Isla Rey Jorge Punta Arenas

... passed amazing plateaus where farmers were raising cattle on very harsh terrain. We saw native rhea birds on the way in fields. Arriving at 6 p we found a place to stay which was reasonable despite very creaky stairs and ambivalent owners. The roo was cosy and there was a kitchen we could use. With internet it was great really. Weds 1st April . Happy Birthday to my friend Caz (hotmail email not getting through fro Sith America) and Uncle Ian. Punta Arenas is a larger town ...

... and when I tried to speak to Quito I found that my face was too cold to control speech. And so we paddled on, eventually reaching our starting point again. We had only been out on the water for two hours but most of it in cutting rain and wind , my hair was soaked, with the water trickling down my neck, and I was so cold that it was all I could do to hobble back to the staff sleeping hut, peel off the layers and ...

... que tout arrive en même temps! :) Je me suis retrouvé sous un soleil de plomb à me faire gifler par des claques de vent alors que de la pluie tombait sur toute la ville, mais quand je levais la tête il n'y avait pas un nuage dans le ciel! Avec tout ce vent, les gouttes de pluie ont bien pu se promener un moment avant de tomber, à moins que ce ne soit l'eau du Détroit de Magellan... Cela dit, le vent donne l'impression qu'il fait frais, mais il y a un ...

... Mauricio explains they have a support truck just ten minutes behind and they have a spare helmet inside the truck I could have. I spent several minutes inquiring about their tour company. I learn the people on this tour pay $400.00 per day to rent the bikes. The tour is completely set-up from start to finish with hotel reservations, meals and border work paper all completed by them. Holy Mackinaw these people are paying $12000.00 U.S. to ride around Northern ...

... a real sense of achievement. The hot shower, a rather ordinary meal and a couple of red wines afterwards with a lovely Scottish couple really capped the day off as we watched the sun set behind the mountains. Sleep and rest was all that was left for the day. The next day looked rather easier than the first, a 5 hour hike along the base of the mountain range looking down to the valley below, well that is what the map said anyway, after a short climb from Chileno. Again when ...

... lakes (pastel green, turquoise, ultramarine blue) formed from the glacial melt water. Because these suckers are definitely melting. Any global warming skeptics should skip the overrated Al Gore movie and just come down here. Any doubts will be put to rest, it´s a beautiful but sad sight to watch these ice sculptures melt away. The geological formations would all warrant their own national park, so it´s quite amazing that they´re just ...

... almost everyone's mouth. Chile seems more down-to-earth and less pretentious. There are small little restaurants and bars that seem like interesting cheap places. At least the Chilean border guards didn't charge me the $131 visa 'reciprocity' charge that I've been dreading and scheming against for months. Even though it's on and in all the books, apparently they only hit you up for it at Santiago International Airpost upon ...

... It is a very pleasant city. I especially love the brightly coloured houses and the broad avenues.    We were driven up to a viewpoint where we had a brilliant view of the city, the dark blue Strait of Magellan and Tierra del Fuego in the distance.    From here, it really did feel like we were at the 'end of the world' as the tourism office here proclaims. Funny though because Punta Arenas is as southerly as Amsterdam is northerly, yet it feels so much more ...

... have randomly bumped into them. The first time was in El Calafate. We organised to meet up for dinner later that evening. Today, I have been just wandering the streets of the city in the morning. I booked a tour for the afternoon to see the Magellanic penguins at Seno Otway (Otway Sound) which is an hour and a half drive from Punta Arenas. That´s all for now. Tomorrow is another marathon day on the bus to Ushuaia. Cheers, Duncan

... where they were one of them got up and went behind a clump of grass where he kept and eye on us, but the other one stayed in place so we should have some good pictures of them,<br>although they were taken through the bus windows.<br><br>We left the highway and drove on a gravel road which slowed Enrique a bit, but not much. While on this road we saw some condors one of which was soaring not far from the road and I hope we got at least a decent picture, although I don ...