Ushuaia

Friday 19th November.

First day in Ushuaia in Tierra Del Fuego (aka ´the city at the end of the world´). As soon as I had a walk around the town on Friday afternoon after having breakfast and changing my dorm room, I knew that I would like this place. Its a town surrounded by snow capped mountains and a large national park full of mountains, lakes and loads of treks including a hike to a glacier about 7km outside of the town.

I cant say I done much my first day here. Made some enquiries at the tourist office about what to see and do in Ushuaia and also went to a few travel agencies to see was there any possibility of getting a boat through the small islands around Tierra del Fuego and hopefully dock in some town in Chile. Prices were very expensive and any cheap option was booked out weeks in advance. Met loads of people who were heading further south to Antarctica but the cost was too much but would have loved to have experienced it.

The hostel Im staying in here is called ´Freestyle´ hostel and its a great place.

http://www.ushuaiafreestyle.com/

Free hot drinks all day and a great place to meet people travelling. Im sharing a dorm with a Dutch guy and 4 Germans.

Next day (Saturday), I took a bus out to Tierra del Fuego National Park (Bus Arg$70 + Entrance fee Arg $65). Met a girl called Nadja on the way out to the park and we spent the day trekking in the forest and by the lakes. Its a really big park and I think you would need about 2-3 days to see it in full. Unfortunately I didnt have more days here so I could have come back to see more of it.

Was delighted to get back to the hostel in the evening .. my feet were in bits. Definitely need to get fit if I intend doing some serious treks here in South America. As I planned to have a lie in tomorrow morning, I showered, shaved and relaxed at the hostel and had a few beers. Played pool and cards all evening with Andrew and Simone and Irini (the German girls I met on Thursday night). Later I went down to the local pub which is the Irish ´Dublin´ bar. I was definitely the only Irish person in the place! I left about 2 am and headed home. There are a few clubs in Ushuaia .. not sure if they were any good, but couldnt get anyone to head out for the night :-(

Sunday 21st November

Very lazy morning. Didnt do anything till about 13:00. I decided then to trek out the 7km to the Martial Glacier just outside of Ushuaia. I eventually made it to the glacier about 15:00. Freezing cold up there! The climb was also quite intense at the very end. Glad I done it though .. was well worth it .. although I know my legs are going to be in bits tomorrow!

Early start on Monday morning ... 5am! Checked out of the hostel and myself and Andrew caught a bus to Puerto Natales, Chile. Another long South American bus journey ....! We had to go back to Rio Grande (220km) and then make a border crossing into Chile before travelling another 630km to Puerto Natales, Chile. Long day! Didnt arrive in Puerto Natales until after 22:00 that night.

Puerto Madryn Days 3 & 4

On Monday, myself, Andrew, Irina, Kate and Nicki headed off in our rented car to a place called Punta Tomba which is appx 190km south of Puerto Madryn to visit a Penguin colony. Such a long drive down which took us appx 3 hours. Long way to go to see a few penguins but the whole day out was great craic and was good to chill out looking at penguins for the afternoon.

After getting back later that evening, myself and Andrew made some enquiries about getting bus tickets for tomorrow to travel south from Puerto Madryn but it turns out that there are no bus spaces until Wednesday. We booked our tickets and extended our stay in the hostel for another night. Was totally happy staying another night as the hostel is really nice. Irina, Kate and Nicki left Puerto Madryn later in the evening. Before they left we all went out for a meal in a local Mexican restaurant. Will miss them when they are gone ... was great hanging out with them over the past few days.

I had absoloutely no plans for Tuesday whatsoever, so I decided to take the morning bus across to the peninsula. Everyone kept telling me how nice the peninsula was and how I should go whale watching. I decided to go but to be honest Im going to have to cut down on all these excursions as they are seriously eating into my budget.

I was finished the whale watching trip about 13:00 but had to hang out in the village of Puerto Piramides until 18:00 for a bus back which was so boring as there is very little to do there. Glad I brought a packed lunch. After getting back, I done some shopping, cooked dinner and had an early night. Not looking forward to this long bus trip tomorrow.

After breakfast on Wednesday morning (17th Nov), myself and Andrew made a packed lunch and checked out of HiPatagonia hostel. Was a great few days here in Puerto Madryn and will miss the place when Im gone despite the crappy nightlife. I really hope when we get to Ushuaia the nighlife is better. Our bus departed at 13:30. Watched some movies on the bus which passed the time and had the mp3 player so it wasnt that bad, but by the time we arrived in Rio Gallegos (about 1,235km south) it was appx 7am on Thursday morning. We then had an hour wait before we boarded another bus to take us further south to Ushuaia (another 570km). We eventually arrived in Ushuaia at 22:00 on Thursday night. Shattered! The 2nd bus journey was a nightmare .. as we had to wait for the bus to go on the boat across to an island called ´Tierra del Fuego´(Land of fire) off the southern coast of Argentina.

We also had to leave Argentina and enter Chile and then go back into Argentina again so there were mutiple border controls which made the journey so much longer. Was so happy to arrive into our hostel in Ushuaia on Thursday night. I got chatting to some girls from Germany on the bus who were staying in the same hostel as me so after we arrived we all went for a drink in the local Irish pub in Ushuaia.

Was happy to get back to the hostel after ... as soon as my head hit the pillow I was out like a light.

Puerto Madryn Day 1 & 2

Puerto Madryn. Arrived on Saturday morning after a relatively short bus trip from Las Grutas (3.5 hours) at about 11am. Feels like I´ve returned to civilisation arriving into Puerto Madryn compared with the size of Las Grutas. I walked from the bus station to the hostel and checked into HiPatagonia Hostel  ... which is turning out to be a great spot. Really enjoying it.

Hostel is actually full ... which is the exact opposite of Las Grutas. Easy to see I´m back on the backpackers trail in Puerto Madryn. After arriving, I chatted to some of the hostel staff and some English backpackers about things to see and do around Puerto Madryn. Afterwards I  went for a walk around the town and chilled out for the evening. Later I met up with Andrew (one of the guys I had met in Buenos Aires), 3 Canadian girls (Irina, Nicki and Kate) and Jeff and Sabrina (from England), and we all went out to a local bar for some drinks.

Have to be honest, Puerto Madryn (although popular with backpackers) is a pretty dead town for going out. The hostel could only recommend about 3 bars and they were all crap. Still ... I was with a good bunch of people and it was good to meet up, make new friends and head out on the town.

Next day (Sunday 14th), myself and Sabrina decided to rent bikes and cycle up the coast to a place called ´El Doradilla´. Its about a 17km cycle but it was on an unpaved road which was a nighmatre to cycle on. Anyway ... we eventually made it there and had a picnic on the beach and watched the whales off the coast.  After a bit we decided to hitch a lift with a local family who had a pick up truck for a lift back to Puerto Madryn. Great day out ...

After arriving back, I made some dinner and met up with Andrew, Irina, Nicki and Kate and we all headed out for a bite to eat downtown.

We decided to rent a car to go a Penguin colony tomorrow ... should be fun :-)

Las Grutas

On Wednesday 10th, I was leaving Bahia Blanca but as my bus wasnt until midnight, I had to hang around the town for the day which was pretty uneventful. Met a lovely couple (Manuel & Josie) from Brazil before I left the hostel that night.  

I took a taxi to the bus station later and got my bus heading to Las Grutas which is another 400km south of Bahia Blanca. Overnight bus again .. and arrived in Las Grutas on Thursday 11th at 7am.  Was well impressed with the nice hostel in Las Grutas:

I had a 6 bed dorm all to myself with ensuite toilet/shower ... wow. Luxury! Antonia, the lady who ran the hostel gave me a key for the place and said to just come and go as I feel like it. I think on the first day I was the only guest in the hostel. On the 2nd day I met a French girl, but in general the place was very quiet and empty. I eventually found out I was in Las Grutas in the off-season and in January this little town is apparantly mental busy as a seaside resort. The town itself had loads of clubs, restaurants and bars (all of which were closed). Its Springtime here so I reckon if I came back in about 2 months it would be a great spot. Beach here is lovely too. ´Las Grutas´ means the ´Grottos´ becuase of the caves the sea water make in the rocks on the coast. Most of the streets here arent even paved .. they are just dirt tracks which gives it the feel of a little country town in the middle of nowhere. There seems to an abundance of stray dogs here for some reason ...not sure if that unique to Las Grutas or not but these dogs are massive and scary!

On Thursday afternoon I took a long 10k walk on the beach and came back to the hostel for a relaxing evening. Shattered tried!

Friday was relaxing too. Some sunbathing and more walking. Went shopping and made myself some dinner back at the hostel and chatted to Antonia the hostel manager and drank some ´mate´. Im beginning to like that drink! Heres a picture of Antonia and her niece:

Had the dorm to myself again on Friday night which was great. I´m back on the road again tomorrow (Saturday 13th) heading south again to my next stop Puerto Madryn, 250km south of Las Grutas.

Bahia Blanca

I´m definitely a little slow putting up these blogs. Every computer I go to over here seems to have really slow connections so I have to decide between putting up a really good blog with pictures or just writing more information and just put up the occassional picture.

Im a few days behind and have done quite a bit of travelling over the last few days. After leaving Buenos Aires last Sunday, I caught an overnight bus to Bahia Blanca which is a city about 700km south of Buenos Aires. Arrived Monday morning about 07:30. Arrived early to the Hostel Bahia Blanca

http://www.hostelbahiablanca.com/english/index_eng.html

Was not impressed with this hostel at all. The doors didnt lock properly, the bathrooms were in an outhouse and were unclean, toilets didnt flush, lockers didnt close, and I didnt even trust the staff. There were also some seriously dodgy characters hanging around the hostel. My lack of Spanish of course did not help at all and most of the guests staying appeared to be local which made it difficult to communicate.

 Heres a picture of my room:

I only picked Bahia Blanca to stay in after reading the Lonely Planet but it certainly seems to be off the backpackers trail heading south. Anyway .. all part of the experience. I had reservations for 3 nights but quickly changed it to 2 nights and made reservations for a bus to the next town on Wednesday night.

After packing my rucksack into the dodgy locker that didnt lock, I took a walk around the town centre. I eventually came across the tourist information office where I had to try and use whatever Spanish I had to find out what if anythng there was to see around the town. I had read in the Lonely Planet about a place called Sierra de la Ventana and after making more enquiries, found out it was actually about 170kms away from Bahia Blanca. If I had of known that before hand I would have simply went directly to Sierra and avoided Bahia Blanca alogether .. which is what I would recommend to anyone else making this trip.

I booked my bus tickets for the next day (Tuesday 9th) to go to Sierra. Rest of Monday was spent just strolling around Bahia Blanca.

Tuesday

What an early start! Got up at 04:50. Bus departed at 06:00 for Sierra de la Ventana. Apparantly Sierra and the surrounding park calle Tornquist National Park had lovely walks and treks, but you had to be there early as they wouldnt let you climb after a certain time. Anyway .. I expected to arrive at 8am but the bus broke down ... twice!!! The 2nd time it broke down we were literally stranded in the middle of the country and the bus driver started flagging down cars to hitch lifts for the passengers into the next town. Long story short, it was about 10am when we arrived into Sierra. I could have made the bus connection to the National Park but it was such a rush I decided instead to spend the day in Sierra. Regretting I hadnt come here originally and booked into a B&B and I could have done loads of trekking. Sierra is a nice town. I walked around the whole town and also climbed a nearby hill overlooking the town. Very relaxing day ..

Was quite a long wait (19:00) for the return bus and didnt get back to the hostel till nearly 22:00. Nice day .. absolutely shattered after it.