Travelling at last

W enjoyed the musical. Great performance from some very talented children. First time ever to wear tramping boots to the theatre, and not out of place.

Went back through the snow - fortunately only 2 streets - to Michelle's apartment and had a relaxing evening.

In the morning (28th) we went to Times Square, now full of visitors, and walked through to Bryant Park and around. Did a little shopping on the way. Back to Michelle's, and had an email to say our flight at 17.30 had been delayed for two hours. Then we got another email to say it was back on time.....

So we finished packing and went down to 8th Ave to catch a taxi just after 3pm. The traffic was gridlocked through Manhatten, and we took over 1/2 hour to get past Central Park. Our driver was good but could not go any faster. We got to the airport at 4.20, and there were very long queues for Air Canada flights. Checked in on the self-help machine, then "pushed in " to bag drop off, as the queue was very long there - and time was running out. Then someone started asking people in the queues who else was waiting for the 5.30 flight. There were a number of people who had to be brought forward to make the flight.

Got through security and to the gate, to find the flight delayed for 1 hour due to mechanical issues. Finally got to take off, and 1 hour 40 later disembarked in Montreal. After goling through customs we emerged to meet our friends. Murray & Marilyn drove us to their home, about 1 hour, in the country. Snow everywhere - though dark so we couldnot see it.

We had dinner & went to bed just after midnight. It was lovely to see Murray & Marilyn again, and a great catchup.

Today (29th) we got up about 8, and left for Ottowa at 10, after a leisurely breakfast. It is a two hour drive, through snow covered county. We walked around the Parliament Building, then had lunch at a Market Produce Restaurant. Then we walked over the St. Laurence River to the Musee Canadien des Civilisations - yes everything is in French and English. We spent time in the Canadian history section. It was very well set out, a lovely museum.

Walked back to the car, stopping for a coffee on the way. By then it was dark, and we drove back to the farm. Arrived about 7pm. Now having a pre-dinner drink. No doubt will update tomorrow.

Stranded

We are still in New York. All flights today were canceled, so we are now on a 5.30pm flight to Montreal tomorrow (28th). There is snow piled up everywhere. It is the 6th biggest ever snowstorm in New York, so one for the history books.

The snow has been cleared on many roads, so is piled up on the sides of the roads in high mounds. We now have winds which are very cold & strong, blowing the snow around. It is -5, with the wind chill taking it to -12. we went out for a walk around the block - Times Square. Had lunch at a 1950's diner, where the staff all sing (they are trying to get roles on Broadway). Lunch was a burger & shake. We walked a little more before returning back to the warmth of the apartment.

Tonight we are going to see the musical "Billy Elliott". We will again put on our boots & hats & gloves to tackle the elements. Fortunately it is only a couple of streets down.

Blizzard hits NY

We had dinner in last night, and watched the white flakes falling. At midnight Michelle & Liz went out to Times Square. There were large snowdrifts all over, still a few cars driving around - no chains. The snow was still falling, it fell until 4am.

In the morning the sky was clear and all around was white. The cars were still driving, slowly, single lane. Saw many people digging out their cars as they got stuck driving along or had been parked on the roadside. The wind came up and was blowing snow off the tops of buildings.

Our 11am flight to Montreal was canceled, we were moved to a 1pm flight, which was then canceled, as was the following 3pm flight. At this stage we are on a flight at 5.30pm. So currently we are waiting to see if the airport is reopened at 4pm.

It is the second largest December snowstorm since 1896! Certainly some record to be here for.....The wind is stronger now than it has been during the snowfall. It is whistling around the windows here on the 19th floor. It is -4 outside, with the wind chill -12C.

Christmas Day & Boxing day in New York

It was a cloudy day when we awoke. We had breakfast, and at 11am walked to catch the bus to Penn Station. From there we took the train out to Long Island to visit friends of Michelles who live about 1 hour 20 minutes out from Manhatten. We started Christmas dinner at 3.00pm and finished dining about 9.00pm - certainly not the way the Hokitika Pfahlerts do Christmas dinner! However it was very nice and the 4 friends (Maria, Larry, Jean & Lisa) were very good company. Traveled through the delightful (not) town of Hicksville on the way out and back. The train home was uneventful. We unwrapped our present and we were in bed by midnight.

Today we went shopping at Macys, Lord & Taylor and Century 21 - an absolute circus with everyone wanting to get "specials". I got a couple of new jerseys and shirts and Liz a new jacket and gloves. It started snowing late morning and we now have blizzard conditions outside - the first snow of the year. We had a few trips in the falling snow traveling between the various shops and subway stations.  They are promising 18" to fall tonight so we are keeping an eye on our flights tomorrow to see if we can get out to Montreal. There are road sweepers and sidewalk shovellers already out in force, thought the number of people walking around has reduced considerably. We are looking at our options for dining out tonight - won't be going far though.

Christmas Eve in NYC

Another clear, sunny day. Again about 0 degrees. We took the bus down 9th Ave to 14th Street. There we went for a walk on the Highline. This is an old railway line which has been rejuvenated as a walking track (with further extensions planned). It has been beautifully done, to look like a disused overgrown railway. Many people saunter along it on a fine day. It is elevated above the streets, so has quite a good view.

From there we caught the C line subway to the Staten Island ferry terminal, right at the bottom of the Island. The free ferry goes every 20-30 minutes. There are up to 2000 people on it! Just walk on & walk off, very streamlined. So we had a good view back over Manhatten while on the 25 minute trip. It was too cold and windy to do too much walking about so we did a short walk near the docks and caught the next ferry back.

Back in town we met Michelle and went shoe shopping. John managed to find 2 nice pairs to replace ones he's worn to death. Liz and Michelle were not so lucky. We had dinner at a cheap diner at Grand Central Station and then headed home. We were joined by Michelles friend Lisa and we all went out for a drink at the Marriot before going off to midnight mass at St Malachys, a small gothic church about 2 blocks from Michelles place.

After mass we came home and rang various family members in NZ before finally getting to be about 2.47am.

New York Update

Hi everyone
No snow yet, but it's promised (50% chance) for Monday. Liz and I went to another show the night before last, called Rock of Ages. It's based on rock music from the early 1980's. We had seats 3 rows from the front. The music was played by a live band. Yesterday we went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. We took a couple of buses to get there. Hard to say that you've ever "seen" the Met with several million exhibits. About a dozen or so rooms just with Egyptian artifacts, and another dozen with grand master paintings. Every major theme seemed to cover about an acre! We wandered around for about 4 hours before flagging.

We strolled back through Central Park and window shopped back to Michelle's flat. It was another sunny, cold day. Last night we joined Michelle and her friend Liz to go to the Christmas show put on by the Radio City Rockettes, the annual Radio city Music Hall Christmas Spectacular. This was an "extravaganza" - the nativity scene had real live sheep, 2 camels and a donkey! The hall is huge and seats about 3000.

We have been to the Natural History Museum also. It has some great exhibits, particularly the bits on the origin of man and dinosaurs. However I thought most of it was a bit dated. Just the job for Peter Jackson and Weta workshops to do a makeover and zazz it up!

Michelle had a party at her place last night and invited 25 or so - which didn't finish till well after midnight. Caught up with all her friends. Didn't get to bed till after 2am. And this morning got up at at 10.47am! Great to be able to sleep in.

22nd December

Another sunny day in New York City.
We caught the bus uptown along 8th Avenue(just around the corner) at 9.45 to the Lincoln Centre. There we went to see "The Magic Flute" at the Metropolitan Opera. It was a great performance, sung in English. Very well staged. Then we walked down to Broadway and continued back along the edge of Central Park. We were going to go to the MOMA (Museum of Modern Art) but it is closed on Tuesdays. So we walked down 5th Avenue, looking at all the famous stores. Only window-shopping!

Visited St. Patrick's Cathedral. We got to the Rockefeller Centre and saw the ice skaters there. Went up the "Rock" - to the 69th floor - in time to see the sun setting over behind the Hudson River. We then walked the very short distance to Michelle's apartment and had dinner. Now waiting to go out to a musical, Rock of Ages. This time we won't need hats & gloves as it is literally across the street!

It has been reasonably warm here, 0 degrees. Usually it is much colder. The forecast is for fine weather through until Sunday, so probably will not have a white Christmas :( Oh well. At least is it easy to get around. There are plenty of people in town, especially around Times Square & on 5th Avenue.

NEW YORK!!

We left Wellington and arrived in Auckland on time, with a quick dash between terminals between rain showers. Had a good flight to LA, but the plane from there to New York was 3 hours late. So we finally arrived in NY just after midnight local time. Michelle was there to greet us, and we got a taxi back to her place. By the time we went to bed it was 3am.
Michelle has a lovely apartment in 47th Street, on the 19th floo,r just along from Times Square, a very nice view out back over TS and to the Hudson River out the other side. It is very spacious for NY, and all decorated for Christmas.
On Sunday we were up at 9am to catch a subway train to Harlem, to go to the First Corinthians Baptist Church service. It began at 10am, and finished about 1pm. A very invigorating service. Some energetic attendees, who were inspired by the Spirit.
We met Michelle's friend Rita & her husband Bobby, and went to lunch at a Soul Food restaurant after the service with them. Then John & I walked through Central Park. Ice skaters on the rink, chestnuts for sale, all very wintry outside. Then we walked down to Michelle's apartment, and we relaxed for the evening.

This morning we arose about 9am and after breakfast went through Times Square to get the subway through to Brooklyn. From Brooklyn we walked back to Manhatten over the Brooklyn Bridge. It was sunny, though cold. Once back in Manhatten we spent the rest of the day walking around lower Manhatten - the site of the World Trade Centre, Wall Street, to the American Indian Museum....past lots of well-known buildings.Everything all decorated for Christmas - strings of lights on all the trees and decorations everywhere. Very pretty in the dark. Only a quick stop for a coffee and for lunch.. We walked through China Town and Little Italy, past the shops on Broadway, and through SoHo. Finally we caught the bus heading back to Times Square, stopping of at Macy's on the way.
After dinner John and I went to the musical Memphis - it was a 3 minute walk to 44th Street, so convenient! The musical was very good, the story of a white DJ who played "black" music on the radio in the 1950s.

So it is now 10.15 and time for bed. We have another full day planned for tomorrow, starting with The Magic Flute at the Metropolitan Opera at 11am.

Coromandel and the East Cape

In late September 2010 John and Liz went on a quick tour around the Coromandel Penninsula and the east Cape following a business trip to Auckland. The weather was windy and sometimes wet. This was the reverse of a trip we'd done together in 1982 shortly after we were married.



We started in Auckland and went out via Clevedon and Kawakawa Bay to Miranda, then on across the Hauraki Plains to Thames. Had a lat morning coffee in Clevedon and lunch in Thames. Then on to Coromandel Township and late afternoon coffee there. Arrived at base camp 5.00pm in Kuatuna on the eastern side of the penninsula. We stayed at Kaepallis Band B. Beautiful views over the sea from a ridge top location.



We had dinner at the golf club at Matarangi. Surprisingly good food and wine!

Day 2 was a leisurley start and then bay hopping down the eastern side of the Coromandel to Tauranga.



Otama and Opito Bay, Whitianga, Cooks Beach, Hahei, Tairua, Opoutere (Liz bought an original Giuty painting from the artists gallery), Whangamata and then straight through to Mt Maunganui for our second night.



Stayed at the pavillion Hotel at the Mount and dined at a seafood restaurant downstairs.

Saturday was a drive through to Whakatane for breakfast at about 11am and then on via Opotiki toward the Cape. A slow meander via Te Kaha, Hicks Bay, Te Araroa, Tikitiki, Tokomaru Bay and Tolaga Bay - finishing at Gisborne. A 9 hour drive through some nice and not so nice country. The road is much more windy than we recall. The norther coats was lovely, but there were numerous slips on the road. From Whangaroa Bay on it's basically a drive through farmland.



Stayed in a waterfront apartment in Gisborne and dined atanother seafood restaurant.
Sunday was a head for home day, stopping for 20 minutes in Wairoa for coffee and an hour in Napier to see Hamish Jamieson and Arti, friens of ours. There was a major road diversion just north of Napier, where we were diverted out into the countryside....The weather was very windy coming down through the Wairarapa.

All in all a great wee jaunt.

Brisbane May 2010

In May John and Liz went to Brisbane for a few days. John was attending the Australian Petroleum industry conference. We spent the time staying first at the Treasury Hotel, and then with friends Davor and Vesna. On the Sunday we hired bikes in the botanic gardens and went for a 30 kilomter ride up the river trail.

We all went south to Mount Tamborine for lunch on the Saturday. Beautiful views over the Gold Coast from the top, walks on the tree top walk and lunch at a local cafe. The weather played it's part and an enjoyable break was had by all.

Ben Pfahlert's Wedding

The whole Pfahlert clan gathered in Oxford, Canterbury, on 6 March to celebrate John's nephew Ben marriage to Tammy Shaskey. John's twin brother Patrick and his wife Hannah and son Oliver came over from Shanghai.

It was the first time in over 10 years that older the five Pfahlert grandchildren were all together at the same time, and a few years since John, Patrick and Mark Pfahlert and their parents got together.

Lots of other relatives and friends from both sides also in attendance. The wedding was in the St John of God Chapel in Halswell, then we went to the Shaskey's home for afternoon tea, before going on to to the Old Flaxmill outside Oxford for the "do".

Great weather and fine dining at Cafe 51 in Oxford, and also brunch at Jo Seager's restaurant. Both a surprise when one was expecting steak and chips....

Liz , John and children all stayed at the West Oxford Hotel. It was clean and tidy and quite reasonably priced.

Visit to Jerusalem February 2010

On the weekend of 20 February Liz and John organised a family gathering in Jerusalem, up the Whanganui River, to celebrate John's aunty's 93rd birthday. Sr Anna Maria Shortall is a Sister in the Home of Compassion and has lived in the community at Jerusalem for nearly 20 years.

Sr Anna Maria's sisters, Jane (Hokitika), Shelia (Napier) and Mary Jo (Blenheim) were all there. Also in attendance were Denis Pfahlert, Sue and Stuart Longly and their grandson, Linda Wealleans and friends of John and Liz's, Therese and Richard McTague of Lower Hutt.

It was a stunning weekend in terms of weather. We all stayed in the old convent. There was plenty of good food, company and swapping stories of days gone by.

Some of the Shortall clan from Feilding also visited for the day - Perry and Margaret Shortall, and Tom Shortall, and another whose name I've forgotten......

On the Saturday morning John & Liz walked "to the orchard" with Richard & Therese. It was a long walk uphill for about 1 & 1/2 hours uphill on a gravel road, and 3/4 hour back down, only to find that the orchard was about 500 metres from the convent!

Last days in BA

On Thursday 28th we went to Tigre. We caught the underground to the Retiro train station, from where we caught a train to Tigre station, about 50 minutes from BA. There were houses/apartments all along the way.

Tigre is a town near the mouth of the River Plate. The area is a large delta (estuary) with lots of islands joined by navigable waterways. All the islands are covered with houses, in varying states of repair. All services and materials have to be brought in by boat. We saw supermarket boats and the police and construction boats, as well as taxi boats.

We took a one hour boat trip around the delta. It was interesting to see all the people on holiday, some swimming in the brown water. The water is full of sediment, so it is supposedly safe to swim in....

We wandered around the local market and had lunch at the end of one of the piers. It was too hot to be out for too long in the sun, so we headed back on the train about 3pm. When we got back to the main train station the subway line was closed - of course we didn´t know why - and there was chaos outside as it is the subway line which crosses the city and links to all the other lines. Therefore we took a taxi back to the hotel and had a shower and cooled off in our airconditioned room. We have enjoyed having the aircon over the past few nights!!

We walked to a local restaurant, Gigon, at the intersection of San Jose and Chile streets, took a few extra blocks to get there so we were a bit hot and sticky by the time we arrived. Our city tour guide had recommended it, as it is a true local eatery, not where tourists go. So we celebrated the end of our tour with fine Argentinian steaks (no need to have red meat for ages, as we must have stored lots of iron while here) accompanied by local champagne. In keeping with local custom, we arrived about 8.30pm and left about 10.30 - more locals were just arriving.

One of the less pleasant sights we saw on returning to the hotel was people scavenging through other people´s rubbish, looking for recycalabes and even eating some of the food. There was even a mother with her baby in a pushchair. The rubbish is pulled out of the plastic bags and strewn around the footpath... There were plenty of police around, one on every block, so it felt safe.

It is now 9.45am on Friday morning and we are about to take a taxi to La Boca to do some last minute shopping. We are returning about 2pm to freshen up and finish packing, then head to the airport. We will miss out on Saturday 30th, and arrive in Auckland at 4am on Sunday 31st. Fog permitting we will be back in Wellington at 8am, and home soon after.

This has been a tour of contrasts, lots of kilometers (about 8000) with lots of steppe country to cover, and few towns and cities. Chile and Argentina have lovely mountains, and the desert, although sometime monotonous, has a beauty of its own. Despite the roughness of the road we enjoyed travelling up Route 40, and some of the allure of that route will be lost when it is all completely sealed.

Till next time, signing off -

Liz & John

27th January Buenos Aires

Yesterday was spent wandering the shops, not very successfully. Lots of toursit shops and far to hot to be very focussed on the task. We joined a colleague Steve from the UK at 5pm and had a cold beer together before retiring to our room for a cold shower and rest before the Tango evening.

This was just a walk down the road and was very enjoyable - a 2 hour show where the whole group attended. The place we went to is the oldest Tango show in BA, opened in 1858. Then on to a famous steak house for dinner, starting at about 11.30pm - we finally got to bed at 2.00am. The steaks were delicious but far too large for one. Liz and I shared one which must have weighed 500g.

Today we farewelled colleages on Cindy the truck as they headed north to Rio. We then changed to an airconditioned room, lovely. This afternoon we wandered the streets and then took the tube out to Palermo Soho to look at clothes and have dinner. It´s now 10.30 at night and the hotel is next door. Just returned on the the underground.

Dinner was nice, and we got to eat vegetables, the 1st time in South America.

26th in Buenos Aires

Yesterday we had a relaxing start to the day organising our laundry and updating the blog site. Then off to see how the underground works and a trip out to the botanical gardens. It looked like a storm had been through recently with many trees down. It was a bit neglected but a very interesting collection of plants.

Then on to the adjacent zoo where John managed to get photos of some of the birds and animals that had eluded him in the wild. It even had a tuatara with chicks hatching out of eggs. We got ripped off buying lunch at a Macdonalds type place, the only place to eat, at 25 pesos each for a buger, fries and a cold drink = no other choice of food. Very hot at about 36 degrees, so we had to keep buying bottled water.

Then on to the Japanese Gardens for a stroll before meeting two people off the other Dragoman truck and a taxi back to town.

We went for a cold beer at a cafe on the corner down from the hotel a 6.00pm and had a snack, then back to the room for a cold shower and a freshen up before joining the rest of our team for a drumming show across town at about 8.30. The group were a bunch of Brazillians who do a show every Monday, about 12 of them on bongo and kettle drums etc. They are supposed to be one of the best groups in South America. It was very hot, but they sold ice cold beer in one litre cups!

The show was loud and very fast paced. I reckon there were 2000 young people there, mostly foreign tourists by the look of them - as well as a few oldies like us. Then a taxi back to town for dinner starting at 11.30pm - looks like we are catching on to the Argentinian habit of eating late. In bed by 12.30 this morning for a well earned sleep.

25 January 2010 Buenos Aires

Since our last post we have travelled 1500ks to BA.
On 22nd we packed up camp and left at 6.30am. We stopped on Puerto Madryn to drop off 8 of our colleagues as they were catching a plane to BA so they could attrend a concert by Metallica that night.
There were 11 of us left, and so we had 2 seats each on the truck. We had breakfast on the road - meusli bars, yoghurt and banana. So we drove 750ks that day, with a short stop to have a picnic lunch, and a couple of stops at petrol stations. Only hiccup was when part of the exhaust fell off the truck. Riki repaired it that night, until then we sounded a bit like a steam train.
As the day went on it got warmer and warmer. Sights along the way - we started to see the first agriculture, around Viedma. Until then it had all been desert steppe country. Still very few houses and nothing in between.

Camp that night was on the coast at a large camping ground, in the middle of nowhere. Lovely spot, with a much appreciated swimming pool. People from Argentine, Chile and Brazil all seem to go camping for their holidays, in very small tents with all the family in together. They are all up till late at night, South American fashion.

Next morning (23rd) we had breakfast and left at 7am. 550ks to go! It was a scorcher of a day (nearly 40 degrees, the hotteswt on BA on record). It was now through agricultural land, evidence of a higher rainfall environment. Mostly flat all the way.

The road finally became 2 lanes each way, there were lots of trucks on the road and overtaking was necessary as they travel at 80 or 90ks, so when it became 2 lanes that was much easier. Then we hit 4 lanes, and heading into BA 6 lanes.
The houses (apartments) began about 25ks out. We arrived at 4pm. Our hotel is in the centre of the city, John and I have them penthouse suite....well, we have a large (for here) room at the top of the hotel. It is hot, as only has a fan, no aircon.

That night we went with a large group of us to a restaurant on the Docks, a big steakhouse. The Docks were the original port buildings and have all been beautifully refurbished as restautants and offices and apartments.

The city is surprisingly attractive, many old European style buildings. Lots iof Plazas and trees on the streets.

Yesterday, 24th, we wandered around the central city in the morning, and went to a large market. Being Sunday all the shops were shut and it was fairly quiet. In the afternoon we went on a tour of the city highlights. First to La Boca, where the area is fanous for its coloured buildings made from surplus port materials 120 years ago by the new immigrants. They used iron and timber, and painted the houses with leftover boat paint.

We also went to see Evita´s tomb in the famous Recolleta cemetery. This cemetery was full of amazing mausoleums, all laid out like in a city on little streets.
The guide explained the history of the city, and talked about the many statues and monuments. We caught the underground back for the last 1.5ks, the original carriges (refurbished) on what was the first underground in the Southern Hemisphere.

On the evening we took a taxi with Charles and Pat to La Boca for dinner in a local restaurant. Lovely meal. Finally got to bed about 1am.

21st January, Puetro Madryn

Yesterday, after doing our last update, we had lunch then walked along the beach back to the camp. It was about 40 degrees, and a 5km walk along the beach. There was a very strong wind all afternoon and into the night. Before dinner everyone appeared in their penguin outfits, some looked really good.

We had a party after dinner to celebrate Snell´s birthday. During the night, at about 2am, there was a terrific wind - probably as a result of the extreme heat of the day. The sand was blowing into our tent and over us, through the mesh and fly. Fortunately the tents all stayed in place.
The campground was really full, with tents everywhere. There is always a queue for the showers, until about 1am and starting again at 6.30am. Liz got up at 6.15 this morning to have a shower, as she was on breakfast duty.

We left camp at 8.30am and headed for the Wildlife Reserve. It was an hour´s drive to the start, and then we drove on a gravel road for another hour to the place where we could view penguins. Since these were the same as those we saw at Camerones we did not stay long there, but carried on to the next spot where we saw elephant seals. There were not many on the beach. While we were there though a couple of orcas swam past. We were about to leave, so we were already on the truck. However Liz managed to see the fin of one as they headed off. Some of our group saw them up close to the shore and were very impressed - great big animals.

We then drove for an hour to a more northern spot where we saw hundreds of sea lions. There were males, females and new pups, one was born while we were there. Noisy, writhing, smelly...lots of fighting and posturing. We hoped the orcas might make another appearance as it was high tide, but it was not to be.

Drove back to the city, 2 hours, half of it on gravel. Sonce we were quite late (6pm) we have all stopped to eat in town, rather than cook at the camp. Tomorrow we will leave at 6.30am with two long days drive to get to BA:

So next update will be from there in a few days!

20th Jauary - Peurto Madryn

We left El Chanten on 17th Jan. It was raining when we left the town, but cleared up as we left the mountain area. We drove, and drove, and drove - long stretched on Route 40 on gravel roads. There were no towns or settlements. We saw a couple of guanaco herds, 2 herds of horses, a dead armadillo and not much more!

About 4.30 we arrived at a UNESCO World Heritage site. This was the Caves of the Hands, where about 9000 years ago the locals blew colouring over their hands and left negative prints on the rocks.

From there we drove until about 8pm when we arrived at a camping site. So it was tents up, dinner to cook, and bed. The stars were very bright there as there were no lights at all. The electricity generator was turned off at 11pm.

Next morning, 18th, we drove some more through yet more pampas lands. Still on Route 40. We drove through a horrid little town, where we stopped at the supermarket to get what we could. The town was all gravel, and very dusty.

All these days there was a consistent 40-50kph wind blowing off the Andes - lots of dust.

We drove on to Camerones, as there was no camping spot to be found before then. Passed through Comodore Rivadivia, a port city servicing the oil industry, which is on the Atlantic coast.

It was 10pm and dark when we got to Coamerones, but we were a day ahead of schedule. Again, tents up, scrambled eggs for dinner as too late to cook.

Next morning was sunny and warm. We packed up camp and at 10am collected our guide and drove into the National Park for 26ks to a penguin colony. There are 26000 breeding pairs of Magellenic (sp?) Penguins there, and you can walk through the colony on a board walk.

Leaving the National Park we rode on the open top deck of the truck to the main road, lots of fun but very windy and dusty. Saw a live armadillo.

Left Camerones and headed along Route 3 to Puerto Madryn where we arrived about 8pm. We passed the scene of a fatal car accident on the way. The road is very narrow by our standards, well sealed and in good condition though. We are a night ahead of schedule so have three nights here instead of 2.

Peurto Madryn is a port and beach settlement. There were thousands of people on the beach when we drove through to the camp site last night. The camp is on a hill beside the beach. It is again hot and sunny! 32 degrees. The thermals have all been put away!
Today we have a free day and so finally get to the internet and catch up on things again. Tomorrow we are spending the day going to a wildlife reserve to see sea lions, etc. Then two long driving days to BA.

It is one of our groups birthday today, so we are having a special dinner and a Penguin Party - dressing as penguins - tonight. The camp will be busy as there are 4 other overland trucks expected today, all heading to BA.

16th January El Chalten

Yesterday John did a 22k walk with mates, and Liz did a glacier walk.

Today we had a sleep in. Breakfast was at 9 am, then we went out about 11am and had coffee. Tyhen we went  to a Condor lookout. There were no condors to be seen - I think it meant a bird,s eye view of the town! However there was a great clear view of Mt. Fitzroy and surrounding peaks. 

We wandered back slowly into the little town. Had a siesta, then went to a closeby waffle restaurant for their Waffle 2004, a waffle with apples, cinnamon, run and icecream.

The next few hours were spent chatting to fireind in the bar. Dinbner was a chicken steak, very nice and huge - we shared one between us.

Tomorrow we have a 7am breakfast, then hit the road. We are bushcamping for the next few nights, so won{t be updating. Only 6 nights until we reach Buenos Aires.

Weather has been great- for here! Fine, sunny but windy as.

 

 

 

15th in El chalten

El Chalten

Today John joined Lisa and John and walked the 22km up to Cerre Torres. There were beautiful views of the surrounding peaks. The walk was quite hot, with no wind and quite a bit of climbing involved. The end of the walk was at a glacier lake with views of Mt Fitzroy, at 3600 odd meters.

 

Liz went on a glacier walk. This involved a ½ hour bus trip and one hour  trip by ferry to the Viedma Glacier, then walking on the glacier, walks through ice caves, wearing of crampons etc. The trip ended with Baileys on ice – a liqueur for those not familiar with the experience.

 

Tonight we went to local eatery and had steaks, lamb ragout and fine Argentinean vino. The weather was beautifully fine and warm with lots of opportunity for great photos

15th January - To El Chalten

We left El Calafayte on a fine summer morning, not needing our jackets! The trip to El Chalten was 185kms through more Patagonian Steppe as before.

This is a new tourist town, growing in a topsy turvey manner. Some streets are newly paved, others have gravel spilling out over the main roads. Many houses under construction. Currently about 1300 residents, most of the town closes down over the winter.

We are in a hostel, very nice and clean, Good cooking area, nice meals, pity about the lack of ventilaition - there are no opening windows anywhere and the heaters are all on full. Made for a very hot, stuffy night in our 4 person bunkroom which we are sharing with John & Lisa.

We ahd dinner at the hostel, after a walk around town. The crumbed schnitzel was the sixe of a dinner plate, and the steak was delicious.

Today Liz is going out onto a glacier, John is walking a local walkway with some of the others. It is fine and sunny, though cloudy. Seems like it is always windy here!

Internet is very slow, a sattelite connection which is also expensive.

 

Update, 13th January

We last update this from the Refugio on 10th January.

 

That night was very cold, but we were snug in our sleeping bags, and the tent did not leak!

 

On 11th we took the ferry back at 10am across Lake Pehoe. Riki, our driver (from Dunedin) was there to pick us up in Cindy (our truck), and took the 8 of us who returned back to our next camp at Lake Pehoe. So we re-erected our tents and had a late breakfast! Did our washing and went for a short stroll. Then just relaxed....had a sing-along around the camp fire in the evening.

 

Next morning we were up and ready to leave by 8.30. We drove 40 mins, to a point where we were picked up by a smaller bus for the sum of 2,500 pesos one way, and driven over a very narrow bridge (ie only centimeters to spare with the mirrors turned in!) and then another 7 ks to the start of our walk.

 

This was a 9km climb up 2500 feet to a stunning view of the Torres del Paine. We started on a good track, climbing steeply in places, before heading through forest on an undulating track. THEN the last 45 minutes was scrambling over boulders up a track. It was steep and a very loose surface. At the top it was snowing lightly, and there was a 50kph wind blowing, so it was very cold. You will have to see the photos to see the view, which was amazing. It took 3 hours 45 minutes for us to climb up.

 

The downhill was easy! We were back to the bus transfer in two hours! All in all a very tough but satisfying day. In the evening we had a half lamb, which one of our group butchered into suitable cuts to barbeque (he is a trained butcher) over an open fire. Liz was on cook group, and helped prepare the fried potatoes, onions and coleslaw. A very much enjoyed meal.

 

Today we were up at 6.30. It was raining, but fortunately our tent was under a shelter. Liz was cooking breakfast - sausages, tomatoes and scrambled eggs - so John packed up the tent. We left at 8.30 and drove back to Puerto Natales to drop of gear which some people had hired. Then we headed for the border and went back through into Argentina.

 

We have now had 6 Chilean stamps in our passports! We drove down Highway 5 and the famous Route 40 back to El Calafayte. Lunch was crackers and pate while driving. We are staying for one night in the same hostel we were in for New Year´s Eve. Tomorrow we are off to El Chalten where we will be staying for three nights at a hostel. There we will be ice walking on a glacier....after that we will head back into summer weather!

10 January - Torres del Paine

We are unsure of the date but think it is correct!

We arrived at the Torres del Paine National Park and took a catamaran over the lake to the Park Refugio. We set up our tent, had a shower (welcome after bushcamping) and went for dinner in the Refugio. >Dinner was a 3 course meal which cost 10,000 Pesos (US$25) each. Prices are very expensive here as everything has to be brought in.

After dinner we went to our tent and had a good night´s sleep. There was a bit of rain in the night. In the morning it was cold and wet, at about 9.15 we set off with Lisa and John to walk to Glacier Grey. The walk right up to the Glacier was about 4 hours each way... We climbed up about for about 2 hours through bush and then over rockier terrain. We could see the Glacier, and the icebergs in the lake which had broken off it. However it was very cold, wet, sleety and about a 50kph head wind, so we decided to return to base.

Spent the afternoon in the Refugio reading and having a drink with our friends. The day actually cleared and it was quite pleasant outside.

This morning we set off in fine, overcast conditions for the French Valley. This was a hike of about 4 hours each way. The first two hours was through scrubby forest and around a lake edge, and was quite easy going. Then we went up the valley. We climbed about 2000 feet up the side of a lateral moraine, and there was some scrambling over large rocks and boulders. The view was stunnings, 2600m mountains up close, with huge glaciers all over them. There were frequently bits of the ends of the glaciers falling off, with loud banging to be heard, all quite spectacular!

John took hundreds of photos of the landscape - kept holding us up!

We had lunch and then descended back to camp. All showered and clean and ready to relax for the evening.

We are staying tonight, then going back on the catamaran to camp for two nights at another spot in the National Park. The following day we intend to walk up to see the Torres del Paine, three granite peaks each of about 2800m.

Friday 8 January

Yesterday we spent the day driving. Left the hostel at 6am and headed north from Ushuaia along the main state highway north. We recrosses the border back into Chile and returned to the mainland on the ferry.
The border guards decided to scan our bags this time and to check the vehicle for forbidden fruit. A fairly cursory inspection.

So we drove all day through steppe land, coercing about 700ks in all. Lunch was a pasta dish on the roadside. Camp long bushcamp along a sideroad. It was a beautiful spot with a view
over a lake. A lovely calm evening. We were very warm in our tent.
This morning we set out at 8.30 and drove till about 10 30 when we reached Puerto Natalis. This is an inland seaport, town of about 18000, which services the teeming industry in the nearby national park. Along the way we saw a fox, rheas, guanacos, (llamas), some cattle and lots of sheep.
We have been to the supermarket and stocked up with food for the next five days treking. Not easy as they don't have the range we have at home.
Now we are having lunch at a cafe with wifi so using the iPhone to write this.
Soon we depart for the National Park. We are going camping Ans treking there for five nights and will do the "W" walk. A Google search of Torres del Paine should give you an idea of the
landscape.
Weather is overcast and cool but it is currently fine.

6th January / Ushuaia

Despite problems with computers being like an abacus for speed we have today got online. Went to the Tierra Del Fuego National Park today and spent an enjoyable 5 hours with a guide showing us the local wild life and beaver dams.

He described how the new migrants sorted out the local indigenous people in the 1860's, they shot them all and cut off their ears and made necklaces out of them......

The park is only about 10km from town. It's along a dry dusty road. Mountains about the height of those inland from Hokitika, with lakes full of trout I'm sure Denis Pfahlert would love to chase. The southern most post office in the world was paid a visit, and Liz bought some stamps there. We also visited the end of the Pan American highway, which starts in Alaska and is 17886km long. Its about 3000km from here to Buenos Aires.

John went shopping for dinner tomorrow night with his cook group. Because we are crossing the border into Chile tomorrow we have to cook a meal without meat and veges / as you can't take fresh food over the border.

Tomorrow we drive back to the ferry crossing to the mainland about 500km away, into Chile. May be offline for a few days. We are visiting the Torres del Paine National Park for 5 days and doing some treking.

Beagle Channel / 5th January

This morning we went on a trip on the Beagle Channel. This is the stretch of water which joins the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and is the border between Chile and Argentina. It was a lovely morning, 8 degrees. We went out round the lighthouse and past islands where sea lions and cormorants live. We also went onto a Sub-Antartic island and looked at all the vegetation there... There are no trees - too windy - but many little shrubs and hardy flowers and grasses.

The city is ringed by mountains. Lovely views from the channel back toward the city. When we arrived back we wandered over to the old prison which operated here from 1896 to 1947 / clearly a joke by some official in the capital back then who had the task of deciding what bleak part of the landscape to keep prisioners.

Have just had lunch in a little cafe on the one main street here. It has started to rain but is clearing again. We've just sent a few family and friends some post cards. Now back at the hostel and about to deal with our laundry / an essential matter when travelling on the road.

Rio Grande to Usuhaia

A short drive today to the southern most city in the world. I should mention the tides before we leave though. They can rise 15 meters at the equinox. It absolutley roared into the river when it finally came in, very impressive.

The drive to Usuhaia was finally through forested country with wonderful alpine scenery. We are staying at a hostel here for 3 nights. Nothing too pre/possessing about this place either. Everything about it seems run down . It is geared up for tourists wanting to go south to Antarctica or cruise boats visiting for a day or two.

There is an airport and quite a busy port through which presumably all freight gets to Terra Del Fuego. Tomorrow we are to have a trip out onto the Beagle Channel.

Rio Grande

3rd January / El Calafate to Rio Grande.
Today we set off at 7.30am on the first leg of our trip south to Usuhaia. We have had to retrace our steps to the Atlantic coast and then head south from there. Again the trip has been acoss very arid country with little sign of habitation. What towns there are are very industrial looking with lots of power and telephone poles, broken footpaths and concrete roads.

There can't be a building code in Argentina, since the huge variety of run down looking houses suggests you just get on and build what you like.

We crossed the boarder twice today between Argentina and Chile. Finally we reached the straits of Magellan and crossed into Tierra del Fuego on a ferry. About a 20 minute journey with dolphins putting on a display near the bow of the ferry.

The next 160km were on a rough gravel road through Chile, then back across the border and sealed roads in Argentina. Finally decided to stop in the "camp ground" at Rio Grande, a coastal city of 58,000. A truly ghastly town if I ever saw one. The camp ground was beside the river mouth and was sufficiently bad that some went back into town to find a hotel. Liz and I quite enjoyed it though. We are well kitted out with warm gear and had a good warm sleep in our tent.

The camp also had a communal room where we all cooked dinner and sat around chatting. The sun set was lovely and went down about 10.30.

2nd January Moreno Glacier

2nd January
Today we went to the world's 5th largest glacier / the Mereno. It's 257 square kilometers, 30km long and about 5 or so wide. The glacier was about 70km from El Calafate along a good sealed road with spectacular vies of the surrounding mountains and lakes.

The place was overrun with tourists, but all very effecient at the site, as the officials had built metal boardwalks all through the area. We could stsnd about 100m from the ice face and watch as hugh hunks fell off into the lake with cracks like gunshots going off as pieces detached.

We had a boat trip up to about 75m from the ice face in the lake. The face is 50/60m high and about 4 km across.

In the evening Liz and I went into Calafate and dined at a very good local restaurant with a younger English couple. The truck has turned up all fixed again, so fingers crossed it stays that way.We leave again in the morning for Usuhaia, a two day trip of 1000km.

Off to a glacier

Update for tomorrow. We are going to head off at 8am to the Moreno glacier. It is the largest advancing glacier in the world. We have therefore been out to get food and water for the day. It has been raining a little but should be fine again tomorrow.

New Years Day / El Calafate

After 22 hours on a luxury coach we arrived at El Calafate at about 10pm New Years Eve. Left El Bolson at 11pm after much waiting / 17 hours after we had actually got up that morning. We drove down the route 40 and then on to route 20 via Sarmiento to Comodoro Rivadavia on the South Atlantic. Stopped there for 20 minutes to refuel and then south down Route 3 to Rio Gallegos and then noth west to El Calafate.

Total distance was 1630km in 22 or so hours. Some of this was on gravel but mostly good sealed road. The countryside was fairly bleak, just desert / pampas most of the way. Little evidence of any livestock, the odd sheep here and there. There were the odd estancias, or sheep farms. Quite a few lamas and ostrich type birds. While it was rolling countryside in places, most of it for hundreds of kilometers at a stretch was just flat pampas.

The oil industry is quite well developed with dozens of "nodding neddys" pumping oil, with all the associated infrastructure. There were virtually no towns or any obvious habitation most of the way. There was very little traffic, but we did spot two hardy cyclists about 150km south of Comodoro Rivadavia.

The coach was very comfortable with recliner chairs, on board TV and because there were only 21 on a 42 seat bus we all had a spare seat each. There was an onboard toilet and two drivers.

We all had a shower and change of clothes when we arrived and then went down and had a shared new year celebration at the hostel we are staying in. Liz and I are sharing a room in the dorm with John and Lisa, a younger English couple on their honeymoon......

The hostel is nice and quite. Slept in this morning and then wandered in to town for a brunch. The weather here is warm, about 20 degrees and partly overcast. El Calafate is another tourist town. I suspect most tourists arive by plane!! Being New Year's Day nothing was open until around mid day. The town has only been developed in the last few years because of demand by tourists to see the Perito Moreno Glacier. It is a bit like Tekapo landscape wise.

Tomorrow we are going to the Glacier, which is one of the largest advancing glaciers in the world.