Hosteria El Alamo Province of Santa Cruz

... there it was cold and drizzeling and everything has a film of dirt around it. I feld like I was in some Northen Soviet town with all the buildings the same drab grey concrete.

The hostel is ok though but very empty and is close to the bus station for tomorrow morning (useful).

... of pizza. With all of the bus travel I was quite exhausted and my favorite thing was a cute little puppy who found a safe and snuggly place to sleep on my bag. It didn´t matter that he was covered in mud as I have collected my share of dirt so far already.

So on the morning of the 14th, I hit the road out of Ushuaia. The skies are cloudy with intermittent sun, but not as cold as it had been. I hit serious fog riding through the mountains that line the southern coast, and then back onto the Patagonian steppe. Then it got me, at last - the wind. It started out as a brisk crosswind out of the west (of course). Then it got briskier. Soon it was the briskest freaking wind I can ever remember. Tolhuin is the ...

January 23rd. As we left Comodor this morning the winds began to howl off of the Atlantic Ocean, the temperature dropping noticeably. We had a cold, hard ride with occasional rain fall as the legendary winds of Patagonia blow us around. The Guanaco´s and sheep staring at us from their pasture, pink flamingos picking away for food in shallow ponds.We arrive in Rio Gallegos late in the evening and both of us are ...

Met the group on the Saturday, the trekking dozen, a mix of Euro~s, Oz~s and a cool hardcore American led by the effervescent Ecuadorian Mariah. El Chalten, first stop, the trek up to see what Fitz Roy was all about. A peak championed by a fun loving monk and a tash loving Italian. This peak grew in its beauty ...

It's 5 hours on the bus through steppe country again to Rio Gallegos. Difference this time - video of 120 of Diego Maradona's best goals - incluing the "hand of God" one, of course (for those who remember it!)! Lindsey spent her time counting rheas (too many sheep!) Here is a necessary stopover on the way to Ushuaia (unless you take an ...

Today was the day of cleaning, resting, and hopping on the bus for the next destination. Buses Fernandes is the cheapest to get you from Puerto Natales to Rio Gallegos for only 7000 peso. The border crossing to Argentina is a lot more relaxed than going to Chile. Once I got to Rio Gallegos, I got my bus to Trelew right away. I ...

... the front of the bus, so that we could watch the Patagonian scenery unfold, and with nobody in front or behind us it meant that we got a good night´s sleep and arrived in Rio Gallegos as fresh as could be expected. As we only spent a couple of hours in Rio Gallegos, there isn´t much to say about our stay. So I will leave this entry now and move on...

... und sonst eigentlich nicht viel. Ich muss aber fast sagen es kommt mir vor als wäre ich in einem anderen Land als vor 3 Tagen.Hier sind es ca. 8 Grad und vor 3 Tagen hatte ich noch knapp 35 Grad. Aber was solls den schon, hier ist einer der schönsten gegenden Südamerikas was die Natur angeht und ich werde hier sicherlich eine menge Spass haben.

... given Paula in the morning was only half way through it´s cycle of wash. So, Paula removed it and did the rest by hand, the entire contents of our backpacks. Chilean hospitality is wonderful, even if they don´t like you. Nadine spent the day downing coffees next to a fireplace at the English language book exchange and bought some books. I devoured one of the books ¨My Invented Country¨ by Chilean author Isabel Allende on the first bus leg and now am wishing for a ...