Catch Up

At the end of the cruise we were dumped into to another city that claims to be the southernmost in the world, Ushuaia. It is in Argentina and is more south than Punta Arenas in Chile. However, none of them are the most southern. This honour belongs to Puerto Williams in Chile.

So we spent a short day in Ushuaia took some pics and bought the obligatory trinkets to prove we were there. It is a spectacular setting for a city and it was great to see it. We booked a seat on the first flight we could get and hopped back to Punta Arenas that afternoon.

The plan was to head up to Torres Del Paine national park and do some day treks in and out of the park, with maybe an over night. However all of the lodges were full for the whole time we had left. So they we thought we’d hire a camper van and sleep in it and do hikes in and out from there. So we hunted around and could not find a camper van for hire anywhere. Plan out the window.

So we decided to rent a car, head up to Puerto natales ( the town outside of the park) and then drive across into Argentina to visit the Perito Moriano Glacier and do an day’s ice hiking on the Glacier which is the one thing I have wanted to do since being down here.

So we rented a car. There were no cars left in th town because we were last minute, so we ended up getting shafted and renting a heap of crap Hyundai excel for $100 US a day. We had no choice as all other options were exhausted.

This has been a bit of a learning curve for Rob. She is the big fan of doing things last minute. I am not. We have been shafted from pillar to post on this leg of the trip because we are trying to do it last minute. It doesn’t work. Well it doesn’t work if you have a short amount of time somewhere, are traveling in peak season, and in the middle of school holidays. A lesson learnt.

So we get to Puerto Natales and head out for one of the best meals of the trip so far. Patagonia is known for its lamb and the way they cook it. We had patagoninan lamb and it was spectacular. While at the restaurant we bump into some WA miners and they tell us they are off to iceclimb grey glacier in the park the next day an just booked it. We determine to get on the same trip.