Rapid Update

Oh my goodness, it's been soooo long since we last posted! Not, I can assure you, because we've been sitting on our backsides doing nothing. More that we haven't been near internet long enough to post.

We're still in Argentina. The distances in this country are just mind-boggling. Imagine if southern Africa from Cape Town to Nairobi was all a single country. That's about the scale of it. So far we've covered 10,000 kms since arriving in the north-east of Argentina, and we're only a third of the way back up it. We could easily spend 6 months travelling just in this country alone. (In fact, now I come to think of it, that seems like a REALLY good idea!).

And what a magnificent country it is. Just staggeringly beautiful. The people are all a bit crazy, which we like, and the political worldview of Argentinians is comfortingly similar to those of many Zimbabweans. And the landscape. Wow. It just never ends. And we ran out of superlatives long ago!

So here's what we've been up to.

From Buenos Aires we headed down into Patagonia, where our first stop was the Peninsula Valdes, world-famous marine wildlife reserve. We were astoundingly lucky to get there at just the time the orcas came out to hunt seals on the shore, although it did coincide with a ferocious hail storm (a useful preparation for the varied meteorological conditions lying in wait for us as we ventured further south).

Orcas on the hunt for elephant seal cubs

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From the Valdes Peninsula we moved rapidly down through the bleak Patagonian steppe, pausing only briefly to consider the oddity of a large-scale Welsh migration into the area in the mid 19th century (about the same time my ancestors came to Argentina too, so maybe not that odd).

The 3,000 km peg on the Ruta 3. We were impressed, until we realised our return journey up the Ruta 40 would see us reaching a 5,000 km peg!

And then, a ferry ride across to the Isla Grande of Tierra del Fuego, a brief sojourn into Chile (you can't get there any other way), and we were in Ushuaia, the bottom of the world. And very definitely one of our quirkiest and most favourite cities anywhere.

An indication of the distances ahead - La Quiaca is still in Argentina!

The famous lighthouse in the middle of the Beagle Channel

 We took advantage of being this close to the Antarctic (Ushuaia is closer to the Antarctic than it is to the Peninsula Valdes!) to climb up to the snowline and frolic. Had a fantastic day skidding down snow-covered mountainsides and were all completely black and blue by the end of it.

Snow, at last!

Watch out for runaway trains! 

Stamping to keep warm....

From Ushuaia, where the weather had been remarkably kind to us, we headed over into Chile to see the famous Torres del Paine. Here, the weather was less kind (although the scenery was absolutely breathtakingly spectacular). After an epic night in which Mands and I literally held our tent down in 80kmh winds, we retreated from the mountains back to base camp to effect repairs. Sadly, with the wind showing no signs of dying down, we eventually had to move on.

The battered remnants of our tent after a night of 80kmh winds.

Wet and cold in the Torres del Paine

The $10 rain suit we bought for Max in Puerto Natales. Mountain fashion at its finest!

But oh, the views....

Trying to stand straight in an 80kmh wind

We survived!

Next stop was El Calfate back in Argentina, and home to the humungous Perito Moreno glacier (Argentina's second biggest tourist attraction after the Iguassu Falls). We were somewhat dreading it, knowing what a touristy place it was, but were pleasantly surprised. Watching from less than a hundred metres away as huge chunks of ice calve off the glacier into Lago Argentina is a remarkable spectacle, and the chance to go even closer in a boat made it even more worthwhile.

Obligatory family portrait in front of glacier

Photographing the glacier from the boat - note the windswept look of the photographer!

And thence to the even more appealing village of El Chalten, base for treks into the range around Mt Fitzroy, which is almost as spectacular as Torres del Paine and considerably easier to get to. The wind continued to do its thing, though, and our attempts to climb up to one of the viewpoints at the foot of the mountain (Lago de Los Tres) was thwarted by a ferocious windstorm that literally knocked us off our feet (and blew the sunglasses right off my face and down the side of the mountain).

Heading up into the Fitzroy range

View from our stunning campsite at Laguna Capri up to Fitzroy

Chance encounter with a llama train, supporting a group of climbers

Cloud formation above the mountain, reflecting the terrifyingly strong winds rushing through it....

We loved it, though. We camped out at a stunning lake (Laguna Capri) and were able to watch a magnificent sunrise that gradually bathed the mountain in pink, just in time to rescue our extremities from frostbite.

Coming down wasn't too much of a hardship, either, as it gave us the perfect excuse to find another snowfield,

In search of another snowfield

where we built our first ever snowman...

Our first ever snowman

 And then knocked him down.

The only thing more satisfying than building a snowman is his subsequent systematic disassembly! 

All finished off with a cup of Max's patented "Genuine Tang Snowcone".

Max, proving that some yellow snow actually tastes really good!

We're now converging on Barriloche, ski capital of Argentina, and are aiming resolutely northwards towards the Atacama desert for some frolics in the sand.

Realised with a shock that we'll be home in 4 weeks time (arriving on Fri 19th December), so not much time left!