USHUAIA AND I RE-UNITED AGAIN

WEATHER: Cold cold cold 9C

HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY: Seeing some sea lions

BUMMER OF THE DAY: Not seeing any penguins

WORD OF THE DAY:  I thought I saw a penguin but it was a shag on a rock…….

What an eventful night.  I had to get up 3 times for a toilet dash before a nasty accident was about to occur.  I don’t think there is a worse feeling than whether you are going to make it to the toilet on time.  Even taking out the factor that it was 0C, but I had to undo two tent zips, the fly’s zip, get shoes on my feet and grabbing the toilet paper at the base of the tent on the fly for a 70m dash to the toilets is a miracle in itself. After scaring one of the camp dogs the first time by the third time he saw a crazy woman making a sprint past him he was used to it and didn’t give a growl like he did the first time.

So needless to say I was still not right this morning, so I dug into my backpack that hasn’t been touched in 3 weeks, dusted it off (its filthy) and got out some Imodium’s to try and stop this puppy in its tracks.  So I took 2 pills with breakfast and then the instructions are to have another pill after each ‘loose bowel’ motion with a max of 8 per day.  I was hoping I wouldn’t need to take that many anyways as my body is pretty good at processing the drugs.  It was also a little worrying that we were going to be on a boat all morning, but after asking Mark if there were toilets on board the boat and getting a yes, that made me feel a little calmer, as I know I would be needing the use of them.

So we left camp at 8am for the 10 minute drive into town where Gray dropped us off at the port for our 3 hour boat cruise of the Beagle Channel.  The Beagle Channel is a strait separating islands of the Tierra del Fuego Archipelago, in extreme southern South America. It separates Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego from the islands Nueva, Picton, Navarino, Hoste, Londonderry, Stewart Islands and other smaller to the south. Its eastern portion is part of the border between Chile and Argentina, but the western part is completely within Chile.

The Beagle Channel, the Straits of Magellan to the north, and the open ocean Drake Passage to the south are the three navigable passages around South America between the Pacific and the Atlantic oceans. The Beagle Channel and the Straits of Magellan are both very narrow passages which severely limit the size and types of ships that can safely use them; hence, most commercial shipping is done through the Drake Passage.

The Beagle Channel is about 240 kilometers long and is about 5 kilometers wide at its narrowest point. The biggest settlement on the channel is Ushuaia in Argentina followed by Puerto Williams in Chile, two of the southernmost settlements of the world.  Although it is navigable by large ships, there are safer waters to the south (Drake Passage) and to the north (Strait of Magellan). Under the Treaty of Peace and Friendship of 1984 between Chile and Argentina, ships of other nations navigate with a Chilean pilot between the Strait of Magellan and Ushuaia through the Magdalena Channel and the Cockburn Channel to the Pacific Ocean, then by the Ballenero Channel, the O'Brien Channel and the northwest branch of the Beagle Channel.

The channel was named after the ship HMS Beagle during its first hydrographic survey of the coasts of the southern part of South America which lasted from 1826 to 1830. During that expedition, under the overall command of the Australian Commander Phillip Parker King, the Beagle's captain Pringle Stokes committed suicide and was replaced by Captain Robert FitzRoy. The ship continued the survey in the second voyage of the Beagle under the command of captain FitzRoy who took Charles Darwin along as a gentleman's companion, giving him opportunities as an amateur naturalist. Darwin had his first sight of glaciers when they reached the channel on 29 January 1833, and wrote in his field notebook "many glaciers beryl blue most beautiful contrasted with snow"

It was a cold, wet and windy morning, but the boat was a large closed in catamaran.  So when we entered the boat we decided to sit near inside near the doors and when there was something to take a photo of, we could nip outdoors, snap and then come back into the warmth of the boat.  The additional bonus for me was the toilets were close by as well. So we cruised the Beagle Channel for 3 hours getting to see a lot of seagulls, shags (on rocks) and a colony of sea lions where there was a MASSIVE alpha male, actually 2 of them and they were the biggest I have seen in all my trip to date.  MASSIVE.  I got some great snaps and at one stage we though we saw a large colony of penguins, but upon closer inspection they were cormorants and hundreds of them all on a massive rock in the Beagle as well.  Our last photo opportunity was of the famous red and white striped light house called Les Eclaireurs Lighthouse.  It is a slightly conically shaped lighthouse standing on the northeastern-most islet of the five or more Les Eclaireurs islets, which it takes its name from, 5 Nautical mile east of Ushuaia in the Beagle Channel.  The brick-built tower is 10m high and 3m wide at the base, with its windowless wall painted red-white-red and topped by a black lantern housing and gallery. Only a door pointing to the west provides access to the building. The light is 22.5m above sea level emitting white flashes every ten seconds with a range of 7.5 nautical miles (13.9 km). The lighthouse, still in operation, is remote-controlled, automated, uninhabited, and not open to the public, guarding the sea entrance to Ushuaia. Electricity is supplied by solar-panels. On December 23, 1920 the lighthouse was put into service - today probably the most photographed lighthouse in South America.

It is a popular tourist attraction, reached on short boat tours from Ushuaia. It is known to the Argentines as the Lighthouse at the End of the World (Faro del fin del mundo), although that name is misleading. The lighthouse is often confused with the San Juan de Salvamento lighthouse on the east coast of the remote Isla de los Estados, made famous by Jules Verne in the novel The Lighthouse at the End of the World, which is actually much further east.  It is a shame the day wasn’t better for photos but I didn’t get to see this on my last visit so it was good to get out here this time.

We were back in Ushuaia at midday and the rest of the afternoon was free.  Kate and I had some printing to do.  I had to print our e-tickets for tomorrows flight, our transfer voucher, our accommodation voucher, Zeme’s e-ticket and passport, a back statement for my Brazil visa and I also completed by Brazil visa application on line and printed out the 1 A4 sheet that was required with all my other documents to submit at my interview with them tomorrow.  I will be so happy when I have that damn Brazil visa in my passport and in my hot little hand, I tell you it has been the main concern from my whole trip from day one and now the extra pressure is on that if I didn’t or can’t get it, poor Zeme will have to shack up with Kate or do the tour on his own, yeah like that’s going to happen over my dead body.  I am getting that damn visa no if, buts or maybe’s.  Zeme has his appointment with the Ethiopian Brazil consulate on Friday, so this is probably more worrying then my own at this stage.

It really was a poor day to be out, so we had a slow lunch in one of the cafes along the main drag, with 2 toilet stops for me and a few more pills popped followed by some window and souvenir shopping before jumping in a taxi at 3.30pm and getting a ride home.  I had to repack all my stuff on what I was taking with me and what was getting left on the truck and then make all that airline ready for check-in tomorrow.  So I got off all my gear, except my camping stuff, my chess board that I bought in Bolivia and my schnack bag I had 6 bags to go through and sort out.  I have been called the bag lady on various tours and I have no idea what they are talking about!  Really…… 

It was funny I had just started when a German group arrived fresh off the plane and they were staying in the ‘coffin truck’.  There would have been around 40 of them and they just commandeered the common room with all of them on a mission of taking out and sorting, I’m really not sure and I got some comments in German on all of my stuff which by this time I had spread around me in an organized mess and one lady even took a photo of me on the floor with all my gear around me.  Too funny and the funniest thing of that is they were all done and dusted within 30 minutes while I continued to slog through all my stuff, but I got there and after condensing a few bags I had my big backpack which I haven’t touched in 4 weeks all packed and a small backpack that I had bought that day for my hand luggage.  Yes I can hear you ask didn’t I have a day backpack already, and the answer is yes, but it was bigger and was still being used holding all the stuff that I wouldn’t be taking with me to Buenos Aires.  It was hard when packing the clothes to leave all the winter stuff behind.  BA had a heat wave last week of days at 42C and for the 10 days we are there it will be mid 30’s, so leaving Ushuaia at 5C and arriving into BA at 32C will be a shock to the system.  I believe we are now leaving the cold weather behind us now the further north we head and I can’t say I am too unhappy about that.  I can say with conviction that I won’t be leaving South America with one bag, I will be entitled to 2 bags on my international ticket and I think I am going to use the allowance.  As I will then be visiting friends for the next 2 months after SA and getting collected from airports etc…. I won’t be trying to maneuver my bags on my own, so heck, 2 bags it will be!

People started to drift back late in the afternoon.  My cooking team the Banditos were on dinner duties tonight with Gray having a night off, Mark and us decided to try our hand at Mexican for dinner.  It is pretty easy to prep and everyone loves Mexican.  Well I do need to acknowledge that the guacamole was a miracle and a high five to Mike and Julia who actually got the rock hard avocados into something that resembled the dip.  It ended up being a 3 step process with Julia cutting into small bits, Mike trying to mash them further with a fork and then I added it to the growing gwok dip mixing it all in and the final mush with a fork.  After adding in the tomato and the onion it actually looked worthy of eating and tasted not to bad either.  That was the biggest mission of the evening and the Banditos pulled it off once again.  High five to my team!

It was Monday evening here and back in Australia it was Tuesday morning and my God-daughters were off to start their school year.  Zoe heads into grade one and my little Tess heads to school for her very first day in Prep.  I had 17GBP credit on my mobile and I got 7 precious minutes talking firstly to Tess, which I had to wind her up as time was ticking and my credit was running low, I didn’t want Zoe to miss out, so I got to talk to her and then a very few precious minutes talking and laughing with my best friend Michelle.  It was absolutely fabulous talking to them today and hearing their very grown up voices.  I cannot wait to see you guys in July and I am happy with my decision to head home for 5 weeks and spend some time with my ‘family’.  Love you guys and I still miss you all every day.

Good-luck to my god-daughters first day of school and also to their mum Shelly Belly who now has her 2 precious angels at school – it is just as a big adjustment for the parents as well as the kiddies.  What are you going to do with all that free time during the day now Shelly?

So with our last night with the group for a week Kate and I were happy to get away and have some time without some of the dramas that comes with group travel and I will just be happy when I finally have my Brazil visa which was the whole purpose of flying up to BA and now has all sorts of other reasons attached to it now as well.  Which are all positive and we just can’t wait to also get to some warmer weather and hopefully shake this damn tummy bug at the same time. 

CHILE TO ARGENTINA FOR THE LAST TIME

WEATHER: A cooler 20C and windy and cloudy

HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY: Crossing 2 borders in under 2 hours

BUMMER OF THE DAY: Not feeling the greatest with an upset tummy

WORD OF THE DAY:  How windy is it?

DISTANCE TRAVELLED: Need to check this with Gray…..

With a border crossing today and the unexpectedness of how long they take we left the Hotel Savoy and Punta Arenas at 7.30am this morning.  Man it was great to get out of a bed and not worry about things touching the side of the tent and getting wet.  The things we have to worry about when on the road!  I woke with an upset tummy this morning (diarrhea) not a great thing to have on a truck day, but I was hoping it would be a passing thing; I wasn’t in any pain just some churning in the stomach now and then. 

Rosita’s new ‘boots’ look all nice and shiny.  She’ll feel like a new woman and all ready for carnival in 3 week’s time.  Woo woo!!!  Let’s just hope nothing else happens, at least for the next section anyway.  In her defence she does cop it a lot when we are driving on roads that aren’t paved and in national parks all considered she is doing alright for an old bird.

Our first stop this morning was at a disbanded fishing village / estancia right on the sea’s edge and also was.  The buildings were great to take some photos of and there was also a ship wreck on the beach that you could climb all over if you wanted to.  It was quite windy here and in turn was a little cold, but we all braved the weather for around 30 minutes to stretch our legs and get some classic photos of buildings that have been allowed to fall into disrepair, which is a shame. 

Another hours drive got us to the ferry terminal and our timing could have been better as we pulled up the ferry was just arriving.  One of the vehicles that came off the ferry was a German company called Rotel.  They have a big truck similar to ours, but not as good, and attached to that like a trailer is what we have termed it ‘the coffin beds’.  It is another truck size trailer in tow, but it had approx. 40 windows and it is where our German friends sleep at night.  It looks hilarious and we all want to know exactly how much room they get in the ‘coffin beds’.  So we drove straight on with a public bus and some local cars for the 25 minute crossing on an open top ferry across the Magellan Strait, which is the only way to get to Ushuaia by road.  We saw one porpoise following the ferry for like 3 seconds and then it was time to get back on the truck for our departure.

This is Kate’s and mine last truck day till the 03^rd of February when we pull out of Buenos Aires.  The guys have 4 more days, with 3125KM and I am guessing around 40 hours in the truck.  Ha ha not for these 2 little black ducks.  Kate is super excited about having so much time in BA and as the days go on we are so happy we made the decision to fly.  You just keep the smile off our faces!  Especially after this morning’s road conditions, it was unpaved roads all morning, and they weren’t even graded so it made for a very BUMPY bouncing morning, like nearly everything had to be tied down just about or it would bounce right off the seats or off the overheads.  About 20 minutes from the Chile border, there was a car on the side of the road that waved us down, he had a flat tyre.  But after trying to inflate that one which was no good and then looking at the spare, which was also a dud, he locked up and he came to the border with us to get some RAAA (Royal Argentinian Automobile Association) equivalent!  Geeze aren’t we just the nicest people.  I have to say it was in the middle of nowhere and the poor guy had probably been waiting all day for a car to come by.  I can see why hardly anyone comes this way as the roads are in such a bad state.  Thank goodness Rosita had on new boots is all I can say.  I am not sure how long the old ones would have lasted on that section.

We got to the Chilean border at 1.40pm.  As we still had some fresh food on board the truck and the timing we made this a lunch stop as well.  So 50m from the border out comes the tables and the cooking group got to work.  I wasn’t feeling in the mood for sandwiches again, so after using the toilet and still having an upset tummy, we went to the small canteen that they had at the border and I ordered the equivalent of a 2 minute noodle bowl, a coke to try and settle my tummy and I couldn’t resist and a small hot dog as well.  Hmmmmmm far better than the salad sandwiches that they rest were having and it all only cost me 6AUD.  With food in our bellies it was time to run the Chilean border control and we were all processed and back on the truck within 25 minutes!  Woo Hoo!!!!!  The drive to the Argentinian border was 20 minutes and we were processed through there in 45 minutes.  Yay, I think this has been the smoothest crossings to date.  The immigration officers didn’t want us all in the building, so we were able to give our passports to Mark and go back to the truck.  Me via the toilets with my dodgy tummy still causing me some grief. 

With that being Kate’s and mine last Chile crossing we were back on the road again for another 300KM to get us to Ushuaia.  The unfortunate thing for the guys is that they have to travel back the same way in 4 day’s time right up to the ferry crossing before getting back onto mainland, another border crossing after that and back into Argentina.  Man that road was tough and thank goodness we aren’t doing that section.  Really is was rough.

We finally arrived into Ushuaia at 7.30pm.  That made it another 12 hour day on the trot and Mark had arranged with the camp site to provide dinner for us which was nice and we had a great BBQ with a massive piece of steak, a chorizo and plenty of salads.  With Tierra del Paine’s frosty morning still fresh in everyone’s mind, pretty much all of us were interested in upgrading from the tents into the dorms at the camp site.  After making the enquiry’s after we had arrived you could just about guess it, they had 12 beds available over 2 rooms and there were 18 of us.  So after a little talking, the couples were going to share bunks for the first night (more beds were freeing up the next night) some people wanted to still camp so in the end there were enough beds for everyone.  So Kate and I were back in first to one of the rooms and we were followed in by a few people that ‘told’ us who had what beds and pretty much we just had to fit in, which Kate and I were to be separated.  Now this normally would not have been a problem, but the way we were spoken to and ‘told’ was what irked me and I had a small huff and made my way out of the building before I let it rip what my true thoughts were.  But the time I got back to the truck I had decided to camp as well and get a little space, which at the back of my mind I was asking myself am I crazy as it was freezing cold, but with Kate’s extra blanket and a little preparation I rekon I would be okay in the tent in single digit weather conditions.  I did have one person offer to swap beds with me after my tent was up so Kate and I could be together, which was nice, and I also had a said person come out and apologize, which was also nice, but the tent was up and pretty much my bed was made, so I decided to stay in the tent for the next 2 nights.  Once I dig in my heals, there’s no going back.  I even had an offer of the spare mattress going on the floor, but I also declined that offer as well.  A bit of camping in subzero conditions (with a wind to boot) is character building and as Minalu puts it ‘an adventure’.  Yeah after 25 days of camping the ‘adventure’ wears off a little, but it is what I signed up for so I will be in a tent in the most southern city in the world!

Ushuaia is the capital city of Tierra del Fuego Province, Argentina. It is commonly regarded as the southernmost city in the world and is located in a wide bay on the southern coast of Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, bounded on the north by the Martial mountain range and on the south by the Beagle Channel.   TheSelk’nam Indians, also called the Ona, first arrived in Tierra del Fuego about 10,000 years ago. The southern group of the Selk’nam, the Yaghan (also known as Yámana), occupied what is now Ushuaia, living in continual conflict with the northern inhabitants of the island.

The British ship HMS Beagle under the command of Captain Robert FitzRoy first reached the channel on January 29, 1833 during its maiden voyage surveying Tierra del Fuego.  The city was originally named by early British missionaries using the native Yámana name for the area. Much of the early history of the city and its hinterland is described in Lucas Bridges’s book Uttermost Part of the Earth (1948). The name Ushuaia first appears in letters and reports of the South American Mission Society in England. The British missionary Waite Hockin Stirling became the first European to live in Ushuaia when he stayed with the Yámana people between the 18th of January and mid-September 1869. In 1870 more British missionaries arrived to establish a small settlement. The following year the first marriage was performed. During 1872, 36 baptisms and 7 marriages and the first European birth (Thomas Despard Bridges) in Tierra del Fuego were registered. The first house constructed in Ushuaia was a pre-assembled 3 room home prepared in the Falkland Islands in 1870 for Reverend Thomas Bridges. One room was for the Bridges family, a second was for a Yámana married couple, while the third served as the chapel.

During 1873 Juan and Clara Lawrence, the first Argentine citizens to visit Ushuaia, arrived to teach school. That same year the Argentine President Julio Argentino Roca promoted the establishment of a penal colony for re-offenders, modeled after one in Tasmania, Australia, in an effort to secure permanent residents from Argentina and to help establish Argentine sovereignty over all of Tierra del Fuego.  But only after the Boundary treaty of 1881 between Chile and Argentina did formal efforts get under way to establish the township and its prison.

During the 1880s, many gold prospectors came to Ushuaia following rumors of large gold fields, which proved to be false.   Ushuaia suffered several epidemics, including typhus, pertussis, and measles, that decimated the native population. But because the Yámana were not included in census data the exact numbers lost are not known. The first census was held in 1893 with 113 men and 36 women living in Ushuaia. The prison was formally announced in an Executive order in 1896. By 1911 the Yámana had all practically disappeared, so the mission was closed.  The population grew to 1,558 by the 1914 census.

In 1896 the prison received its first inmates, mainly re-offenders and dangerous prisoners transferred from Buenos Aires but also some political prisoners. A separate military prison opened in 1903 at the nearby Puerto Golondrina. The two prisons merged in 1910, and that combined complex still stands today. It operated until 1947, when President Juan Perón closed it by executive order in response to the many reports of abuse and unsafe practices.  Most of the guards stayed in Ushuaia, while the prisoners were relocated to other jails farther north. After the prison closed, it became a part of the Base Naval Ushuaia (Spanish), functioning as a storage and office facility until the early 1990s. Later it was converted into the current Museo Maritimo de Ushuaia.

During the first half of the 20th century, the city centered around a prison built by the Argentine government to increase the Argentine population here and to ensure Argentine sovereignty over Tierra del Fuego.  The prison was intended for repeat offenders and serious criminals, following the example of the British in Tasmania and the French in Devil's Island.  Escape from Tierra del Fuego was similarly difficult, although two prisoners managed to escape into the surrounding area for a few weeks. The prison population thus became forced colonists and spent much of their time building the town with timber from the forest around the prison. They also built a railway to the settlement, now a tourist attraction known as the End of the World Train (Tren del Fin del Mundo), the southernmost railway in the world.

Ushuaia has long been described as the southernmost city in the world.  While there are settlements farther south, the only one of any notable size is Puerto Williams, a Chilean settlement of some 2000 residents (mostly families of the nearby military bases).  Puerto Williams also calls itself the world's southernmost city, but this claim is dubious as the Chilean government itself defines a city as an urban entity with more than 5,000 inhabitants.  As a center of population, commerce, and culture, and as a town of significant size and importance, Ushuaia however clearly qualifies as a city. A 1998 article in the newspaper Clarín reported that the designation "Southernmost city in the world" had been transferred to Puerto Williams by a joint committee from Argentina and Chile, but this was denied by Argentine authorities, and the Secretariat of Tourism of Argentina continues to use the slogan in official documentation and web sites.

Ushuaia has a subpolar oceanic climate with temperatures average 1.6 °C in the coolest month (July), and 10.4 °C in the warmest month (January). The record low is−25 °C, and record high 29 °C (85 °F) (December). The record low ever recorded in summer is −6 °C. On average the city experiences 200 days of light rain or snow a year, with many cloudy and foggy days. Despite receiving only 530mm on average annual precipitation, Ushuaia is very humid. 

After dinner Kate and I had a chat and she has decided to pass on adding some time to the end of her trip, so in turn I am not heading to Cancun but to Barbados instead!!!  I am disappointed that she is not coming, but it also great to now be able to finalize the last of my trip.  I think 7 nights in the sun after my 6 months in South America comes to an end will be just what the doctor will order.  So if anyone is free from 7-14 May, you are more than welcome to join me sunning myself with a cocktail in hand in BARBADOS!!!!  I’m liking the sounds of that already, and the GREAT thing is I think I will be able to include the flights on my Round the World ticket which is an additional bonus!

BARBADOS HERE I COME!!!

So after a massive day in the truck, a massive meal it was time to leave the warmth of the common room and head back to my icy tent.  In between all the meals, tent set up etc… I had also made some dashes to the outside toilets still with my dodgy tummy.  Probably not the best place to be in a tent if I need to make a night dash, but hopefully the tummy will hold till morning and all will be well in tummyland!

So welcome back to Ushuaia for the next 2 nights.  It is still freezing down here even 11 weeks after being here the first time.  Does this place ever warm up?   

DAY 300-WHERE HAS THE TIME GONE?

We got a flat
How about that
So we had to pull up in a hurry
Ordered a coffee, a burger and sat by the fire
An enjoyable stay without the worry
Mick Watson - as we waited for our tyre to be fixed - again


WEATHER: FREEZING-SUB ZERO CONDITIONS……. 4C in the truck

HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY: Warming up around 11.30am

BUMMER OF THE DAY: Rosita getting ANOTHER flat tyre

WORD OF THE DAY:  Holy cold Snap Batman

DISTANCE TRAVELLED: 

TURN THE FREEZER OFF.  OMG – how cold was it this morning?  Let me tell you it was BLOODY FREEZING.  I think it may have been the coldest night I have had on my entire journey in tents.  It wasn’t too bad last night when we went to bed, but maybe I knew it would be colder than the previous 2 nights as I kept my socks on when I went to bed, but boy did the temperature drop sometime in the wee hours and when that damn alarm went off at 6.15am, Kate and I didn’t want to move out of our nice warm sleeping bags and blankets.    It was that cold, besides being able to see out breath, the frost on the ground, the fog that had rolled in; when we were packing up the tents I got ICE on my hands.  ICE.  My thermometer on the truck said 4C and that was inside, so I am certain it dropped to zero at some stage during the night.  It was tough packing the tent and pulling out the metal pegs, as everything was just so cold and our hands were frozen, but we all managed to get it all done and in the truck departing the national park at 7.30am.  Needless to say we all skipped on the showers this morning, but there was no water I found out later anyway.

So today I have been away from home for 300 days!!!  It does seem like a life time ago I waved goodbye to Shelly and my god-daughters on the 27^th March 2011 at Brisbane Airport.  That was a very sad day for me and in a recent message from Shelly after I had emailed her about Zeme, she mentioned deep down that she knew that I wouldn’t be coming back and if I did it wouldn’t be for long.  Funny I wasn’t even thinking like that at that point, but that is why she is my best friend and she knew I was looking for a change, who would have thought it would have been so drastic.  Certainly not me.  So with 6 of my 7 continents visited so far, hundreds of thousands of kilometers travelled by air and also by road, 38 countries visited, 49 international flights and countless of new friends made I have come a long way in 300 days.  All going to plan I will be on the road for another 165 days till I get back to Australia for a glorious 5 weeks, 3 of them I will be busy getting my stuff ready for Ethiopia, obtaining visa’s, buying clothes and some core food products that I know you can’t get in Ethiopia and I will be sending an extra bag back with Zeme full of my stuff.  I better warn him to bring only one bag so he can take 2 home to Addis.  I like the sound of that.  The other 2 weeks I will be showing Zeme around town and introducing him to you all and this I am very excited about.  I am telling you, you are going to LOVE him.  300 days.  I have been thankful for each day, it is a gift to wake up and live my dream.  I have opened my mind, my arms, and my heart to new people and things and I haven’t looked back.  What stories I will have to tell my children and I can’t wait to get my blog printed when my journey ends in August and re-read the experiences I have had.  Thanks to you all for your support, whether by Facebook, blog entries, email and text messages.  I LOVE you all.  300 days already.

We stopped at a small hotel/café just after 10am for a toilet stop when we found out that we had another flat tyre!  What is happening with poor Rosita?  She really is having a bad trot.  The main problem this time was that the valve had been pushed into the tyre, making it impossible to get air into it.  Gray really had to put on his thinking cap to decide and work out what would get us back on the road again and safely.  Well after some bushman mechanics and 1.5 hours later he had us back on the road again.  I’m not entirely sure what he did but I know it involved fuel, lighting it amongst other things and probably better not off asking.  Whatever he did it worked and got us back on the road.

We are heading to Punta Arenas, and yes say Arenas and we have joked the hell out of the name using your anus for the last week.  We need to liven our truck days somehow!!  Punta Arenas  meaning Sandy Point is a commune and the capital city of Chile's southernmost region, Magallanes and Antartica Chilena. The city was officially renamed Magallanes in 1927, but in 1938 it was changed back to Punta Arenas. It is the largest city south of the 46th parallel south.  Sitting by the Strait of Magellan Punta Arenas was established originally as a tiny penal colony in 1848. During the rest of the 1800s, it became increasingly large and important as international trade across the straits grew and the countryside around experienced a gold rush and a sheep farming boom around 1900. Chile effectively used Punta Arenas to exert sovereignty in southernmost South America leading to the Strait of Magellan being recognized as Chilean in the Boundary treaty of 1881 between Chile and Argentina. The geopolitical importance of Punta Arenas has remained high in the 20 and 21th century as the city is important for logistics in the Antarctic Peninsula.

Located on the Brunswick Peninsula. Punta Arenas is among the largest cities in the entire Patagonian Region. In 2002, it had a population of 120,000. It is roughly 1418.4 km from the coast of Antarctica.  The Magallanes region is considered part of Chilean Patagonia. Magallanes is Spanish for Magellan, the Portuguese explorer who, while circumnavigating the earth for Spain, passed close to the present site of Punta Arenas in 1520. Early English navigational documents referred to its location as "Sandy Point".  The city proper is located on the northeastern shore of Brunswick Peninsula. Besides the eastern shore, with the settlements of Guairabo, Rio Amarillo and Punta San Juan, the peninsula is largely uninhabited.

Between about 1890 and 1940, the Magallanes region became one of the world's most important sheep-raising regions, with one company (Sociedad Explotadora de Tierra del Fuego) controlling over 10,000 square kilometers in southern Chile and Argentina. The headquarters of this company and the residences of the owners were in Punta Arenas.  The Punta Arenas Harbour, although exposed to storms, was considered one of the most important in Chile before the construction of the Panama Canal, because it was used as a coaling station by the steamships transiting between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Today it is mostly used by tourism cruises and scientific expeditions. The city is often a jumping-off point for Antarctic expeditions, although Ushuaia (Argentina) and Christchurch (New Zealand) are also common starting points.

 Among Chileans the city is also known for its strong winds (up to 130 km/hour). Winds tend to be strongest during the summer when city officials put up ropes in the downtown area to assist with unique wind currents created by the buildings.  Since 1986, Punta Arenas has been the first significantly populated city in the world to be directly affected by the hole in the ozone layer, exposing its residents to potentially damaging levels of ultraviolet radiation. 

Our final destination today was a seaside town of Punta Arenas and after a lunch stop just on the city limits the guys had to go and order 4 new tyres for Rosita.  Good idea fellas.  So the Firestone place was located in a duty free zone of the city, so we were given an hour to roam around the duty free shops.  Based on this I decided to buy a new camera.  My poor Pentax is starting to get some wear and tear, the first showing a few weeks ago with a mark on the inside of my lens, possibly on the mirror, because when I zoom on something I could zoom out the mark on the photos, but I had to zoom along way for this to happen, so my non zoomed photos have a black dot on them all and it is quite distinctive.  Then yesterday when I turn on the camera, it is making a noise, like the lens motor is getting stuck and the lens shakes for a few seconds.  For all the trouble of trying to get my 300AUD camera fixed in Buenos Aires, and either costing me more than a new one, I decided to retire my Pentax after 10 months of some heavy duty use-age and over 55,000 pictures taken I think I can safely say that I have got my money’s worth out of it.  So with Helen in tow, we hit all the electrical shops looking for what H calls ‘bridging camera’s’.  They aren’t a full SLR camera but they are a notch better than the point and shoots.  The main functions I use on the camera is the cropping, black and white and I wanted one with similar zoom or better than 26 optical zoom.  The only shop we found that had even a bridging camera was closed when we first got there, but as we were heading out the doors, it had opened after the siesta period had finished and the camera happened to be a Panasonic Lumix FZ47.  H went through the lenses, the zoom the functions and it actually looks just like an updated version of my Pentax but better.  The price was also great at 189,990 pesos which equates to around 360AUD, which is apparently a good price.  You know me, buying gadgets spontaneously, so it was sale for the guy, cash only, luckily there was an ATM just outside the shop, I got the cash and 5 minutes later I walked out with a new camera under my wing.  I am really happy with my power shop and when I got back to the truck Julia had been looking at that particular camera before coming away and decided on the smaller model but she said I won’t be disappointed and the camera was retailing for 280GBP so I think I also got a great price which at the end of the day I was happy what I paid for it no matter how much cheaper I could of found it.  So of course it has a Chile plug for the recharger, but I have a universal adapter I bought last time I was in London, so besides Africa I have all the continents covered for the plug.  It is a shame I didn’t get it in Argentina as they have Australian plugs for some weird reason, but at the end of the day, Ethiopia will be my final destination and as long as I have adapters, it doesn’t really matter.

4.30pm had us arriving at the Hotel Savoy.  A lot of us were tired as no-one got a good night’s sleep with the near Arctic conditions of last night.  Kate and I decided to have dinner in the hotel and just stay in for the remainder of the afternoon.  Punta Arenas didn’t have much to offer in sightseeing options that late in the afternoon and was pretty much like any other town and a stopover point for us to break our journey.   

After 23 days of in a tent, with a hostel thrown in here and there over the 4 weeks, we take the hotel stays very seriously.  From free Wi-Fi, to sleeping in a bed, with a pillow and a night light.  Being able to hang your arm over the edge of a bed, to having a hot shower, and a bathmat to stand on when you get out, to a nice fluffy towel, rather than my travel towel and to have a shower without having to wear your thongs on your feet is just heaven.  Top all that off with a TV and a remote, yes people a remote control we are just about as close to heaven you are going to get, especially with the cold snap we had last night, makes you appreciate it all that more.  We are camping in Ushuaia tomorrow night, which is the most southern city in the world, so one would expect the launching point for the Antarctic cruises  will be cold and looking at the weather forecast I am not sure if the city will be hospitable on that front, but the gang have 3 nights here, Kate and I only 2 as we fly out on Tuesday for 10 nights in a hotel in BA and Kate is now thanking her own travel gods that she changed her mind and decided to come to BA, and so am I.  I will be busy, but to have a friend there for that long will be cool.

So this is goodnight from Chile for the last time. xx

MORE OF THE SAME? DRINK GIRLS? I THINK NOT

WEATHER: Glorious again – what a beautiful day

HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY: Internet connection

BUMMER OF THE DAY: The power went off at the hotel

WORD OF THE DAY: Beepie  

I think we shocked a lot of people waking up at 8am this morning and I am feeling fresh as a daisy!  I think it was one of those things when you start drinking early; get drunk and not spastic and you are in bed by midnight you can wake relatively unscathed.  There were people heading off to the glacier this morning with the camp owner, but they could only take 9 people, so with us away yesterday, we missed the boat on that and with a few people heading into town with Gray the options for our last day were limited again for the non-walkers.  Apparently the truck was taking people into the park yesterday and they got another flat tyre or a brake pad, they didn’t make it to the walking track and after changing the tyre back to the half dodgy one they headed straight back to camp.  Glad we didn’t come back from our drinking session for that to happen.  So Gray was heading into town to get new truck stuff which was an hour each direction plus the time in town.  I think I will pass.

So Sharon, Helen and I decided to head to the 3 star hotel and share some love and have a nice lunch there.  The food from there the other day was really good, so I knew that we were on a winner and their internet lets you onto all web sites.  They are so nice here and after getting some drinks they had a lounge area on the 3^rd level of the hotel that again had magnificent views over the national park and it’s peaks and we nerded up here till 12 noon when the chef lady from the other day came up with a piece of paper in hand.  She had Google’d translated into English what was for lunch which was pea soup, pork and mushroom risotto and a coffee cake for dessert.  Sounded great and for 18USD a bargain and she asked what time we wanted lunch to be served.  What a sweetie!  Just after lunch the power went out, so we lost or charging capabilities and also Wi-Fi, **gasp** I hear you say!  It was probably a blessing in disguise, so we decided to sit out on the balcony and get some fresh air and just to wait and see if the power came back on.  After an hour, it still wasn’t on, so I decided to head back to camp to read my book and catch some of the glorious rays of sun and the other 2 walked back to the 5 star for the internet.  H was waiting on some important emails and needed to use Skype.  So thanks to the 3star hotel for your hospitality, they were so friendly.  On our way out I asked if they could post some postcards that I have been carrying around for the last 3 weeks.  They were stamped, I just couldn’t find a box to pop them in and the guy said he was heading into town tomorrow, so he could do that for me no problems.  Thanks buddy – too kind.  As we were leaving they had a sunscreen dispenser at the front door, so I applied some to the nose on the way out, what a great idea!

So with the girls heading to the 5star I bid them farewell and after walking back to camp, passing around 12 horses that were grazing and getting some more wonderful photos, I pulled out my sleeping pillow, my book, a bottle of water and some chips and read for the rest of the afternoon in the sunshine. So I managed to fill my 3 days here quite well.  Not being a nature bunny, I am happy.  I saw a little of the park, had a girly luxury day, got some contact with the outside world and some sun on the last day.  We are off to Punta Arenas tomorrow and our last night in Chile, in a hotel called Hotel Savoy, only the best for us and then back into Argentina for 2 weeks, Paraguay for 3 nights and then we enter Brazil and on the final run as days count down to the end of this section of the trip, Zeme arriving and the party of Rio Carnival.  27 days and counting.  I hate telling Helen how many days till I see Zeme as that means it will be the end of her trip and time to head back home.  Sorry H.  But the days are passing so quickly and my heart skips a beat when I think about seeing him again.  Is this how ‘love’ feels? 

What other things am I counting down?

27 days till I see Zeme

I’m on day 299 of my World Odyssey

I’m on day 58 of my South American tour with Tucan

99 days left on the tour and Kate and I haven’t killed each other

I have 165 days till I am home – just in time for my god-daughters 7^th birthday for 5 weeks……..

…..and lastly I have 223 days till my total Odyssey ends in Ethiopia and my new life starts with Zeme…….

Exciting times ahead – Life is waiting xx

OUR FIVE STAR DRINKING SESSION

WEATHER: Glorious and sunny

HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY: Getting sloshed in luxury

BUMMER OF THE DAY: Having to leave ‘luxury’

WORD OF THE DAY:  Kir Royale – our drink of the day – champagne and blackcurrant liqueur

DISTANCE TRAVELLED: 4KM round trip give our take a few steps staggering back to camp…

Kate and I managed to sleep in till 8.30am.  Ahhhhh what a luxury to start a day of luxury!  After breakfast we just read and rested till 11.30am and then we packed up all our gadgets that needed charging, our internet gadgets, books and purse and set off for our 2km walk to the 5 star hotel.  I hope they have something better on the menu than yesterday and we weren’t disappointed when we got there with a choice of soup or Cesar salad, beef goulash or salmon and then rice pudding for dessert.  Lunch didn’t start till 12.30pm, so we made ourselves comfortable in one of the many lounge areas, also right next to the bar, and settled in for the afternoon.  The Wi-Fi at the hotel was a bit more of a mission to get onto and we all had to individually walk to reception and ask them to login for us.  They had to change the IP address and all that other ‘stuff’ for us to be able to get into their network.  We walked up with our drinks so they could see that we were buying things and we told them that we were staying for their 36USD lunch, so we just weren’t going to suck all their internet and then leave.  So my first drink was a Rossini, which was champagne and strawberry juice for 3600 pesos (6.80AUD) which I didn’t think was a bad price for a 5 star hotel drink.  Their internet didn’t like several web sites including iTunes and some Australian sites, so I pretty much just fluffed around on Facebook and email till we decided to head to lunch at 1pm after I had consumed a Mojito.

Lunch was on the second floor with a table that looked out onto those famous mountain tops again.  Included in the lunch price was a free glass of wine or a soft drink, so with food being served to us, on a table, with a ceramic plate, in chairs with backs, music playing and the view, this was a great idea to have a break  from ‘campers’ life.  The house white was actually a nice drop, so Helen, Sharon and I decided to buy a bottle of the stuff for 15AUD and we consumed that over the last of lunch.  So by this time we are getting ‘happy’ and we headed back to ‘our’ seats to resume the rest of the afternoon.  There was as shift change at the bar and the old fella disappeared and a young fella came on, and he told us they were out of strawberry juice we had to change to something else, so we stuck to the champagne base and went for a Kir Royale, which had a blackcurrant liqueur in it instead of the strawberry juice.  It was a bonus for us as the drink had more alcohol in it and at 2500 pesos ($4.77AUD) was cheaper than the other one.  Anything mixed with champagne has to have warning bells and we were well on our way to getting trollied. 

With Facebook still open on my IPod, I started chatting to people online and at one time I had 12 conversations going, man it was so good talking to you all and after re-reading my messages the next day, I wasn’t too bad in conversing after about 9 champagnes and half a bottle of wine.  I didn’t remember typing some of the replies and besides a few spelling errors I held my own.  It got to the drunken point we were messaging each other via Facebook and we were sitting right next to each other, this was hilarious and I guess you know you are getting drunk when you start to do that, but man it was funny!!!

Late afternoon, some of the group started to head back to camp and H, Sharon and I had all intentions of following them after a drink from the road, which turned into another one, then another one and after 5 roadies decided at 8pm that we were hungry and hoped to hell that there was some food left for us back at camp.  The hotel had a dinner set menu for 36USD, but after spending around 50AUD plus lunch, it was time to leave our little cocoon of luxury and head back to the reality of the camp. A 25 minute walk probably took us 40 minutes getting back and with some music from my IPod playing and high spirits we couldn’t have given a toss.  We didn’t have a care in the world and what a great day we had.

There was some dinner waiting for us when we got back, but apparently under duress, as the feeling was if we couldn’t get back in time for dinner why should some be left.  Well this priced the ‘happy’ bubble we were in what a terrible way to end the day, when we always save plate of food for people that aren’t back in time, so this was very disappointing.  But not to bum us out for too long we had some wrestling games with Gray, which apparently he kicked our butts, I can’t remember and I have picked up a new nickname from PM of Beepie, as I got myself into the front cab with Mark and let loose on the horn beeping away to some tunes, so Gray disconnected the horn and took all the fun out, so I took the truck key and hid it, till I dropped it when Gray came to the cab and I lost that as well, so defeated in all areas I think it was time to finally go to bed.

What a great 5 star day, so thanks Helen and Sharon.  It was nice to feel a little human again and also have a little splurge.  It was worth every penny!    

TORRES DEL PAYNE NATIONAL PARK

WEATHER: Overcast with spots of rain 18C

HIGHLIGHT OF THE DAY: Going for a drive through the beautiful national park

WORD OF THE DAY:  F*@k that…..

DISTANCE TRAVELLED: 260KM on dirt roads

The guys got ready this morning for their walk to The Towers in the Torres del Paine National Park.  The landscape of the park is dominated by the Paine massif, which is an eastern spur of the Andes located on the east side of the Grey Glacier, rising dramatically above the Patagonian steppe. Small valleys separate the spectacular granite spires and mountains of the massif.  It is rated up there with an Inca trail type trek, so Kate, Debs and I have decided to be the backup crew and go along for the ride to drop them off and then come straight back to camp.  See what great team members we are.  The weather was a little cloudy and spots of rain, but the group were excited about their 8 hour walk and I was excited that I wasn’t going!

Our camp site was only located a 10 minute drive from the park’s entrance where we had to stop, fill in entry forms and pay the park fee (included).  As we waited an emergency helicopter arrived at the center and as we were cleared and driving in there were 2 light planes that did a flyby before also landing near the center.  There was a bush fire here 3 weeks ago and parts of the park are currently closed and by the looks of things they are still fighting some of them with a pass at one of the ranger stations had around 30 people all dressed in yellow with fire hats on, so it seems it is still an ongoing thing.  .  In late December 2011, another fire burned (as of 1 January 2012) 128 km² of the reserve, destroying about 36 km² of native forest.  We didn’t see too much of the effects till we had driven further into the park and then you could see the charred remains of the vegetation and it still had that distinct smell of a fire recently put out.  I think we are quite lucky we even got to come into the park, as it was closed right up until last week.  Tucan had a backup plan of another park just as spectacular apparently, but they opened Torres del Paine so we stuck to the original plan. 

The national park is beautiful.  There are stunning turquoise lakes, among them are Dickson Lake, Nordenskjöld Lake, Pehoe Lake, Grey Lake, Sarmiento Lake, and Del Toro Lake. All are vividly colored, most due to rock flour suspended in their waters. The main river flowing through the park is Paine River. Most of the rivers and lakes of the park drain into Última Esperanza Sound via Serrano River.  With the charred landscape from the fires, the green rolling hills and once entering the park always the view of the majestic mountains and The Towers.  Add in Llama’s, snowcapped mountains and more lakes with some birds floating by, it was certainly worth the 3 hour trip in the truck on very bumpy roads, as none of them are paved in the park.  The clouds were still hanging around, but the sky was blue and the rain held off for us so I was able to snap off a lot of photos as we drove.  After crossing 2 bridges, one they had installed for the fires, we dropped the crew off at the entrance to the start of the walk.  So with some good-lucks, some ribbing and take cares we drove straight back to camp.  Kate, Debs and I sat in the front cab with Gray for a small section of the journey back, but I couldn’t see too much out the windows for photos, so Kate and I went back into the back of the truck and it was weird, good weird, being the only 2 on the truck.  We decided to crank up some tunes and had the music blaring and the party truck directed to home. 

Hiking trail in Torres del Paine is a popular hiking destination in Chile with the national park 598.593,02 acres in size.  There are clearly marked paths and many refugios which provide shelter and basic services. Hikers can opt for a day trip to see the towers, walk the popular "W" route in about five days, or trek the full circle in 8–9 days. Hikers are not allowed to stray from the paths in the national park. Camping is only allowed at specified campsites and wood fires are prohibited throughout the park.

Visiting the park is recommended between late December and late February, during the southern summer. Not only is the weather more hospitable, but daylight hours are very long given the extreme southern latitude. Outside of this time frame, the weather becomes too extreme for the majority of the public, and daylight dwindles to only a few hours a day.

Torres del Paine National Park is a national park encompassing mountains, a glacier, a lake, and river-rich areas in southern Chilean Patagonia. The Cordillera del Paine is the centerpiece of the park. It lies in a transition area between the Magellanic sub polar forests and the Patagonian Steppes.  Lady Florence Dixie, in her book published in 1880, gives one of the first descriptions of the area and refers to the three towers as Cleopatra's Needles. She and her party were the first tourists to visit what is now called Torres del Paine National Park.  The park was established in 1959 as Parque Nacional de Turismo Lago Grey (Grey Lake National Tourism Park) and it was given its present name in 1970. In 1977, Guido Monzino donated 12,000 hectares (30,000 acres) to the Chilean Government, and its definitive limits were established.  The park was designated a World Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1978.

In 1985 a Japanese tourist started a fire that burned about 150 km² of the park. The blaze affected the areas east and south around Lake Pehoé.  In February 2005, an accidental fire started by Czech backpacker Jiri Smitak, which lasted for about ten days, destroyed 155 km² of the park, including about 2 km² of native forest. The fire consumed an area located on the east side of the park and away from the most popular attractions. The Czech government issued a letter of apology and donated 1 million US dollars to reforestation efforts.  In late December 2011, another fire burned (as of 1 January 2012) 128 km² of the reserve, destroying about 36 km² of native forest and affecting most of the areas around Lake Pehoé and the western areas around Lake Sarmiento, but moving away from the Cordillera del Paine, the park's centerpiece. An Israeli camper was detained on suspicion of causing the fire. He and his family claimed his innocence. According to Chilean daily La Tercera, the Israeli government will send reforestation experts to the zone and at a later time will donate trees to replant the ravaged areas.

With Gray stopping at all the view points on the way back to camp, we were lucky the weather held to get some amazing photos as we thought about our fellow hikers trekking to the top of the massive mountains.  I really don’t understand what people get out of hiking and climbing, but then we are all different and each to their own, but I felt just because I didn’t trek that I missed out on the beauty of the park.  We all take out different experience and for different reasons.

We decided to splurge today and have lunch at one of the 3 hotels that were 2km from the camp.  We went to the 5 star hotel to start with, and we were soon to learn they only offer set menu’s at all of them, we didn’t really like what was on offer and 36USD was a lot to pay for a meal that didn’t strike a chord, so we walked across the road to the smaller family run hotel and they didn’t serve lunch, so we tried our luck at the 3^rd and final hotel and they did us a 3 course lunch for 18USD and we also got the Wi-Fi code so we could nerd it up over lunch.  Perfecto!  All 3 hotels had amazing views of the mountain peaks of the national park and we spent a wonderful 2 hours over lunch and internet.  When we got back to camp Gray was just leaving to go back and pick the hikers up and with nothing else to really do, we went back with him on the truck for the 3 hour return journey to get them.  Now that is dedication.  We spent 6 hours in the truck on a non-truck day!  Luckily we got all the photos we wanted in the morning as the weather had really turned and the clouds rolled in and the rain started and everything looked so different from the morning’s drive.  The hikers only got drizzled on a bit, but after talking to them it was a tough hike which reinforced I made the right decision not to go and our clever cookies completed the walk in just over 6 hours.  Yeah if I had done it, I would probably still be out there!

As we were pulling into the camps driveway there was a gaucho on horseback that was waving frantically at us, I thought he was getting a little stroppy that we were driving over his patch to get to the camp site, but all was to be revealed when we pulled back at camp about 300m away that we had blown a tyre on the last section of the dirt road just up from the grassy verge and we were literally limping on a rim.  We had a good old fashioned blow out and because the wheel is so large it looked impressive!  To add to our tyre woes, Gray wanted to change the front right tyre as there was a small hole appearing there, but one of the nuts had lost its thread, so he worked into the night with the help of the camp owners to get it off, eventually grinding it back to get the darn thing off.  So 2 tyre problems in one day, poor Rosita, she just needs some TLC.

This is a hiker’s paradise.  If you’re not a hiker 4 nights, 3 whole days is a lot of time to fill in.  Day one was successfully filled in and it was great to see some of the park, it really is a beautiful one but now what were we to do for the remaining 2 days.  Some of the girls were happy to have a rest day tomorrow and have a few cocktails at the 5star hotel, so that sounded pretty good to me, so we are going to have a day in some luxury tomorrow and I can’t wait.