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  • TravelerLa Vida Colorida
    Day 504

    Buenos Aires II - It's Quarantine Time!

    March 19, 2020 in Argentina ⋅ 🌙 24 °C

    Day 504.

    BA wasn't all Tango, steak and wine however. Maybe we should have heeded the warning signs early on when the museums & theatres started to close - instead shrugging it off and booking a bus to Igazu falls and Rio de Janiero for one weeks time - it'll all blow over by then I'm sure, don't worry said an optimistic craig..

    It wasn't long until the tide turned, and oh it turned fast indeed. Closed accomodation, shunned by locals, and certainly no tourism left to be done. It was at this point panic set in, dodging a last minute bus to Brazil on rumours of closed borders was arguably the only good decision we made in this time frame - and that was half luck at that. Being stuck in Buenos Aires with no way home was certainly better than in a border town in the Brazilian jungle.

    That was our decision made then, we would go to the airport tomorrow and demand a flight out - which meant we only had one night left to enjoy Buenos Aires in all its glory and boy did we try. Heading to one of the top 5 resturants in all of South America (and 34th in the world) - Don Julio, for steak, malbec and champagne. You know you're in the right place when you recieve 4 free glasses of champagne just whilst waiting for a table outside. Putting the worries of escaping this continent behind us for a few hours was exactly what we needed and it was a meal to remember, a cheers to all our travels and up there with the best dinners we've ever had together.

    Our full proof plan didn't last long however when we were swiftly turned away from the airport the following morning - shit. Thus we mentally resigned ourselves to bunkering down in Argentina for the foreseeable future and returned to the safety of our hostel - only to find they would be closing also and we were kicked out onto the streets - darn.

    If we weren't worried already, this did us no favours, a fairly frantic 24 hours followed to say the least: A new Airbnb booked after plenty of door knocking (reassurances needed that we had not recently been in Europe of course) more flight plans made and a few bottles of wine purchased to drown our sorrows. Thankfully our Spanish helped us more than once - struggle to imagine how much more difficult this would have been otherwise!

    If it's tough watching the virus updates in the UK it's almost 10x worse watching it unfold in another country, in another language and with the assumption firmly cemented that every foreigner including you is the virus carrying devil. It was upon hearing the news of a further lock down we decided enough was enough - a surprise bargain British Airways flight appeared online (I use the term bargain loosely, this was relative to the other £3k+ flights on offer), a few late night BA chats with Diane and Paul later and we quickly changed our plans for the 35th time...

    The following day was the fastest we've ever moved, rumours of an impending curfew meant within 10 minutes we were packed and on route to the airport, in a taxi and off. After some bargaining and pleading we got onto a different flight vs our booking and beat the likely collapse of yet another airline, and in no time at all the worries and problems of those few days seemed a million miles away, as we touched down in London just 48 hours later.

    And that's the end of our trip so far. It might have sadly been cut short by unexpected events but we have been incredibly lucky to see what we've seen, experienced all we have experienced and spent the time together that we have spent, all 510 days of it, after all that's a fairly big vacation!

    In uncertain times the only thing that is for sure is that it's not the end, we will be back for you South America, Limbster and I aren't quite done just yet!

    Adios, Ciao, Goodbye!    Read more

  • TravelerLa Vida Colorida
    Day 502

    Buenos Aires - Pre Quarantine..

    March 17, 2020 in Argentina ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    Day 502.

    We had high hopes for Buenos Aires and it certainly a lot to live up to. The common saying to sum up BA is 'Italian people, speaking spanish, acting English whilst living in Paris'' and it certainly couldn't have been any truer here. Slightly overwhelmed with the size and opportunities in this city limbster set to work with a plan, and left Rio de Janiero to me (this would ultimately become sadly redundant).

    She certainly came through however, landing us in a hostel in the area of San Telmo, cobblestoned lanes, street art of every corner and incredible food markets - this was our kind of place. Live tango was never more than a stones throw away and we wasted no time pulling up a chair in Plaza Delgado to catch our first dance.

    At the best of times our days revolve around food - but this couldn't have been more true here. It didn't take long to sample the cities best Empanadas, carne, humita and queso and all fresh out of the oven, before diving into a few dulche de leche filled alfojes.

    We realised once again that hostel life is no longer the life for us and moved our bags around the corner to a private room with terrace facing out onto the main roads of San Telmo - air con and netflix was also a welcome treat on those rainy city days to come.

    Keen to not miss any local experiences whilst here we picked ourselves up a bag of matte tea, a matte cup and a filtered straw. Anywhere you look on the streets of Argentina you will see argentinians drinking matte tea, a shared drink that requires one matte cup, plenty of tea and a flask full of hot water. Long wanting to try we finally had our chance one sunny afternoon. Limbster couldn't quite handle the refined taste and it was left for me to do it justice - and it went down a treat!

    Our most anticipated visit was to the area known as La Boca, or downtown - the old immigrant area of Argentina and thus the most colourful and vibrant. It was also the home of Boca juniors and tango dancing which meant for quite the atmosphere, dancing in every bar and street food was plentiful. We arrived early to capture some snaps of the awesome town before it all really kicked off, indulged in some fine churri pan and got some close up live tango action - quite the day.

    A limbster city tour wouldn't be complete without some hidden gems or DIY experiences however.. And so we headed out on a comic book strip tour of famous Argentinan characters plus a street art hunt (my fave) in the arty palmero region whilst battling the crazy heat, if only limbster had pulled off the sassy frida pose for the finale and it would have been the icing on the cake!

    It wasn't all to be smooth sailing here however and with events changing by the day things where about to take a slightly less pleasant turn.....    Read more

  • TravelerLa Vida Colorida
    Day 495

    Mendoza

    March 10, 2020 in Argentina ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C

    Day 495.

    The 17 hour bus ride from Bariloche to Mendoza was, despite the length, one of the most luxury bus services we've been on to date. Nothing can rival the beds of India of course but a dedicated bus hostess, hot dinners, unlimited coffee and organised bingo games meant it was certainly up there!

    Not long after breakfast was served we arrived in Mendoza, the red wine region of Argentina, and famous for top notch Malbec. It just so happened we had arrived during the annual wine festival - which meant red wine fountains, never ending beauty pageants, plenty of horse riding and flag waving cowboys - the town was alive to say the least. Unusually regardless of the hippie Argentinian culture there was no backlash against the annual beauty pageants which has hundreds of women paraded for 4 days throughout town with thousands of supporters in their wake.

    It wouldn't be a wine festival without a mega degustación (tasting). Ljbujania style we picked up a class and wasted no time sampling the tasters from a selection of the 900 Vineyards surrounding this town. In fact we nearly even felt like we fitted in to our classy surroundings until we would return to the dive of a hostel we had booked for ourselves - £4 a night might get you a bed but it'll be a sweaty dark and dingy one that's for sure.

    Nonetheless we argued less money on sleeping = more money on wine and steak, which we certainly embraced. Wasting no time in trying some local T-bone (a first for limbster) and sampling some red - without it we'd have never been able to sleep through the 35° heat in our 2x4 room.

    After 3 days of enjoying the festival atmosphere it was time for the grand finale, not ones for a 3 hour dance event we passed on buying tickets and clambered our way to the hilltop for a sneak preview. As expected the highlight was our cheese, salami and beer picnic but it was a adventure nonetheless - opting to take the less dangerous way home..

    As the festival wrapped up it was time to explore the real reason we were here, the Vineyards themselves. Bikes hired we set out - with plans to explore just 5 of the countless nearby in one day. It wasn't many kms before we arrived at the first winery, nestled amongst rows and rows of vines with the andes mountains as a back drop - it was pretty dam perfect. Opted for a 3 wine tasting per person, and heavy on the Malbec, it would have been rude not too (all for £1.80 mind), incredible.

    After that things got more and more blurry, the cycling got a little more difficult and limbsters hands became a little more liberal with the surrounding grapes as we crawled vineyard after vineyard. To finish off our day of tasting the bike rental man offered a happy hour of free homemade Red wine at his wine bar next door upon our return - not ones to miss free wine we returned on the dot to take advantage of such a deal.

    After that sudo Craig made an appearance, which left limbster to fend for us both at the bus station, wisely opting for tickets to Buenos Aires the following day and sourcing herself a satisfying dinner after a long and wine fuelled day! It was a wise choice as waking the following morning we both knew we were well and truly wined out, customising our own bottle would have to wait until next time - a night bus to the capital, Buenos Aires awaited us...    Read more

  • TravelerLa Vida Colorida
    Day 490

    Bariloche

    March 5, 2020 in Argentina ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    Day 490.

    After crossing back through the andes mountains on what was likely the most scenic bus ride we'd ever taken we arrived in Bariloche, Northern patagonia and Argentinas answer to lake como of Italy (but better..)

    It was time to let our hair down and in a rare change of pace we checked into somewhere a little classier than our usual hostel digs, and just with just slightly more space than we've been afforded by jengibre these past 3 weeks. Wasted no time settling into the vacation lifestyle, jacuzzi baths with a view and champagne room service. After barely catching a shower (excluding the odd lake swims) these past 3 weeks it was well deserved and I quickly lost count the number of baths limbster had ran already.

    Knowing we'd be in bariloche well in advance I had the rare opportunity to surprise limbster for once, and it was going well. Not sure how she is taking to being totally clueless on the research front, she hasn't even checked trip advisor for the best places to eat - and is willingly going along with my plans, we will see for how long.

    Making the most of the current Argentinian currency debacle we headed out on our first night to a dinner that we most certainly could never afford in England. A 6 course tasting menu with wine (from mendoza of course), we even took a taxi there and back, absolute treat.

    We're not sure where it all started, whether it was the gorging on the gourmet cake buffet at breakfast, the previous nights tasting menu, or worse yet the slight illness were still carrying from the cabbage saga, but waking up on the second morning we didn't feel great (putting it mildy). In fact our appetites had all but vanished, not concerning ourselves too much with this we skipped lunch and decided to over compensate with dinner tonight. Not wanting to slack on night two we headed out to try and better the night before - this time at a 7 course tasting menu with wine pairing, most certainly the nicest meal either of us have ever had or will have for the foreseeable future.

    So nice in fact it was all a little bit too much, and it was certainly a dinner to remember. I think it was wine no.6 where I lost limbster to total silence, the look on her face one of absolute fear if she was forced to eat or drink anything else - a look I never thought I'd see. For me it was a little later, after seeing off wine number 9 was when it really went downhill. Let's just say it was fortunate the bathroom was close and we had outlasted most of the other customers that evening. One I won't be forgetting in a hurry.

    It's fair to say we didn't want to leave, and we certainly did our best, barely leaving the room bar for a dip in the lake or the outside pool. In true style we refused to miss out on any feature and still insisted on having our log fire lit despite the 31 degree temperature outside, but it was well worth it. Everything came crashing back down to reality fairly quick once we checked into a nearby hostel for the following 3 nights - snorers and bag rustlers galore!

    Although not ones for usually getting on a bike it didn't take long to persuade us to partake in the 29km circuit in the nearby mountains after learning of the patagonia bar nestled into the hills halfway round. After only 7km of pure up and down (we should have anticipated this given where we are..) we arrived at the bar and quickly indulged in a couple of Patagonian brewed pints overlooking a picture postcard vista.

    It's fair to say the cycle got tougher after that, and it didn't take long until us and every other cyclist resorted to walking up the bigger hills and taking every opportunity for a swim and an extended break when possible.

    If there was ever a night for us to try our first Argentinian steak then tonight was it, and we'll deserved indeed. We didn't hold back, opting for the mountain of papas fritas, plenty of malbec and some top end rib eye - what a night, and what an end to our time in patagonia!

    Tomorrow we board the 19 hour bus north to mendoza, the home of Argentinian wine - let's go see what all the fuss is about!!    Read more

  • TravelerLa Vida Colorida
    Day 484

    Volcan Osorno - Farewell..

    February 28, 2020 in Chile ⋅ ⛅ 13 °C

    Day 484.

    And so the time had come, our final stop with jengibre on this Patagonian adventure. Up early with a lakeside breaky to get us going, cabbage pains as prominent as ever - will it ever end?

    Today we headed to volcan osorno with no expectations, little did we know it would be our most amazing wild camping spot to date. Couldn't resist the temptation today to pop into a local honey maker - I wasn't allowed to purchase a full size pot of course, but after an ample tasting session limbster let me off with a bite size version for breaky the next day, a treat indeed.

    Toured mirador after mirador, escaping bees when necessary (limbster espesh) until we arrived at the end of the road, and a giant lake, with huge snowy volcan osorno as the back drop!

    After yet another empanada (what else) it was time to relax, limbster feeling particularly out of character opted for an afternoon nap in the camper, leaving me to my own devices on the beach, not always the best idea...

    Both of us struggling & so weren't quite up to trek today, instead opting for the luxury version - a sightseeing boat trip, win. The boat had benefits twofold - not only becoming the best flag shot to date but giving my shorts a good old clean with a particularly refreshing lake swim.

    Super dissapointed in jengibre today, only gone and let us down with the broken door one day before hand in day, very sad times - praying for improvement mañana.

    After admiring the volcano all day long we decided we would head to the top to sleep that evening. It was certainly a struggle to do so however - mile aftee mile of climbing in the camper, rarely changing out from 1st gear to make the steep climb. After an hour of incredible views on the drive we reached the top - or as close as we'd be going without an ice pick or two!

    With visitors only making it up this far in the day we were left all alone for the night, above the clouds & right on the edge of the volcano - a fitting way to see out our 3 weeks in patagonia. Most incredible sunset to date too, preparing our favourite garlic chilli pasta (despite the chilling winds that were rolling in) and forcing down the remaining vino blanco - it would have been criminal not too after all. Same sadly couldn't however be said for the red.

    Our final day was met with mixed emotions, on one hand we would miss camper life a lot & the independence that comes with it, on the other we were would be shortly getting the entirety of our belongings put through the laundry, an exciting prospect indeed - limbster particularly seemed over the moon about this!

    It was goodbye to Chile (for now) and hello again Argentina come the next morning!    Read more

  • TravelerLa Vida Colorida
    Day 482

    Chaiten to Hornopiren

    February 26, 2020 in Chile ⋅ ☀️ 14 °C

    Day 482.

    With the clouds swooping in we packed up and drove north, passing through a remote village half destroyed by a recent avalanche, sad to see the terrible impact on such a small place with the only remaining house now doubled up as a functioning museum.

    It wasn't long after before we arrived at Pumalin parque, our last national park of Patagonia, but we had no intentions to trek in this one. We were here for the hot springs and only the hot springs only, on a cold and cloudy day it couldn't have been more perfect. They had the added benefit of doubling as our weekly shower, making up for the last few days of uncleanliness. Bathed in the 40 degree pool on the edge of the river, watching the world go by and feeling fresher than we have for a long time!

    Our spot to sleep tonight in the coastal town of Chaiten was right on the beach, and was thus the perfect spot for wildlife watching. For the first time in a long time limbster turned out to be a keen seal spotter and we spent the evening watching them play and splash around. That being said it wasn't all 100% accurate however and I don't think our fellow campers ever did catch those 'dolphins' limbster announced....

    Waking feeling fresh we set out for a morning stroll on the black volcanic sandy beaches, it seems a simple stroll is now the extent of what our patagonia trekking life has become - were seemingly all trekked out! Headed to our much anticipated ferry, 4 hours of sailing through the fjords to hornopirén. Super slow journey but scenic nonetheless, even allowing time for a cheeky nap in the back of the camper - why not.

    Unexpected guests tonight at camp, just as it turned dark, two truck loads of local Chilean gypsy's turned up. Within 5 minutes they had whipped up 3 huge circus like tents, about the same amount of time it took us and the rest of the nearby campers to hide all our belongings and lock down every door. It would turn out this casual racism was to be justifified when we saw firsthand said gypsy's robbing the local stores the following day - this coupled with the fact apparently nobody in this town understands my Spanish meant it was a swift goodbye to hornopirén for us and back into the mountains.

    Something is up with limbster today, lagging slightly and not feeling her finest. Early self diagnosis puts the cabbage to blame, it turns out eating cabbage based meals exclusively (on account that we bought a giant one) can cause a number of stomach upsets. Based on history I'm expecting to catch up with these feelings ellies having no more than one day later. It would prove this time it wasn't even that long - who woulda thought it.

    Nonetheless we had a hike to do today, after a slow start (with plenty of panting) we were up and down the 14km in no time. Granted limbster needed some swaying to keep going but she smashed it in the end, if you could call hobbling down 6km on one knee 'smashing it' I guess.

    Interesting to see the abundance of illegal logging for the first time, and exactly why so many national parks are being created. Granted they werent quite what you expect illegal loggers to look like - 60+ year old men with machete in hand and facing an hour uphill walk to work every day. Safe to say these forests won't be going anywhere anytime soon..

    Craving an afternoon nap after this mornings activities we headed back out to the coast, finding the perfect spot to crack the boot and drift off for a few hours to the sound of crashing waves. Energy was much needed as we had a good few hours of off road driving in store today - boy did I forget to appreciate tarmac roads enough.

    Came to the conclusion that we did not want nor physically we were able to eat more cabbage, and Limbsters face at the thought of a stir fry said it all. So tonight we treated ourselves, stopping in a local town for fresh pizza and two pints of Stella of all the beers! If we didn't already deserve it enough the slight scare only a few minutes before with jengibre becoming well and truly stuck down a sheer gravel slope made sure of it.

    Even with our new sense of teamwork, me limbster and jenggers in escaping all danger it seemed silly to venture back to our planned camping spot (with that sheer gravel cliff) I don't think the clutch would have last a second punt. Opting therefore instead to pull off the main road and rest our heads, after todays activities we were asleep within seconds!

    P.s We've lost the horse flys but have made it into bee territory. Fortunately they're friendly and just result in abundance of delicious honey for sale - much better than horse flys!    Read more

  • TravelerLa Vida Colorida
    Day 477

    Carretera Austral Continued..

    February 21, 2020 in Chile ⋅ ☀️ 20 °C

    Day 477.

    Morning didn't kick off quite to plan, my new down jacket proving so insulating it concealed the fact it had strayed across the open stove and caught on fire. To be honest after 3 weeks of using an open flame I'm surprised we've not burnt down the entire campervan, coat left partially melted but I'm still wearing it with pride.

    Made some serious ground on the incredible carretera austral route today, passing quickly through Cerro Castillo, impressive views but very poor tourist info, regardless we have come to the conclusion we're all trekked out for a while anyway!

    Found our first sign of civilization in the normal urban town of Coyhaique. Weird to be among so many people and real supermarkets - didn't take long to miss the wilderness once again. Thus in true efficient fashion we powered around the supermarket, swiftly saw off a cold pint in the sun and headed out to find a spot for the night. We've certainly got some drinking to do too after I let limbster loose in the wine isle - 8 bottles in 6 days might be a challenge..

    In no time we found a picturesque riverbank out of town, surrounded by green hills and perfect for what we had in store tonight. Got slightly carried away by the cheese selection vs the typical sliced burger cheese and invested in a cheese board, I say invested because boy did it go a long way. Sat and watched the sun come down out of the back of the camper, over indulging on cheese and vino tinto - it would be an understatement to say limbster was chuffed!

    Enjoyed a peaceful lie in to the sound of the river, after a quick bathe we were refreshed & ready to depart and continue to north. Fortunately the good weather has helped a lot - mainly in keeping us clean and fresh. Today's dip in a nearby glacier lake being a good example, cold but oh so worth it when the sun is out! Celebrating as also by some miracle managed to finally lock down our place on the 4 hour car ferry in two days time, something that has been a continuing nuisance for me especially.

    Nestled at a spot close to the Quelat glacier for the night, so hot were now sat half naked in the back of the camper - limbster has only gone and got herself burnt and so opted for the shade while I went diving in the water nearby. Quickly dawned that we'd now reached the sea, albeit amongst numerous fjords and so the clean feeling achieved from the fresh lake earlier was quickly replaced by the smell of sea weed - disaster.

    Rather unusual encounter with the local rangers tonight. Just tidied away dinner and sat down with a drink when we were greeted by not one but 4 of the local rangers, who formed an orderly line directly in front of us - hand shake introductions and all but with very little to say. A brief 'algo mas' and they were on the way - an experience indeed. Note to self - maybe a little less rum before I attempt to handle the hot dogs next time around..

    The weather couldn't last forever and the following morning the clouds swooped in, right over our planed glacier hike that day, it wasn't to be and swiftly changing course we continued north opting to make a cosy day out of it yet. Found one of the best wild spots to date, crystal blue river and beach in the forest all to ourselves. Wasted no time setting up with David Attenborough on the laptop and cracking out the marshmallows and cerveza - cloudy days have their benefits too it seems!    Read more

  • TravelerLa Vida Colorida
    1
    Day 475

    Puerto Rio tranquillo & Los Glaciers

    February 19, 2020 in Chile ⋅ ⛅ 9 °C

    Day 475.

    Understandably still in awe by the days drive - cruising along dozens upon dozens of crystal glacial lakes and empty gravel roads, it was easy to miss the tiny turn off for tonight's planned wild camping spot. A small but steep dirt track down to an otherwise totally unaccessible lake was just perfect, not only that we had the place all to ourselves and just in time for the sunset!

    Overly chuffed with our find (credit Limbsters find) we wasted no time in setting the standard magnum of vino blanco to chill in the nearby lake, and moved to prepare tonight's feast - this is what camper life is all about.

    On the itinery the following day was rumoured as one of the nicest drives on the whole journey, the one way Valle de exploradores. With scorching weather we headed straight out to hit the road and it certainly didn't dissapoint. My day was made even better by the fact that limbster confidently took up the first leg leaving me free to snap away as I very pleased - a rare treat.

    A fairly untravelled route meant this was certainly one of the lesser cared for roads, and thus for a rather bumpy journey. Credit to limbster however, after accepting that her eyesight and judgement of distances is all but entirely shot she perfected the simpler approach of just aiming to pass over all big rocks and potholes directly in line with her bum, therefore avoiding jengibres fragile tyres. By some miracle this approach worked, some late swerves yes, but flat tyres - not on her watch, and we arrived unscathed at our glacier lookout spot safe and sound.

    What would follow would be up there with one of our best and equally worst moments of this entire trip. Yes - it was an amazing spot for lunch, glacier backdrop, countless waterfalls, crystal clear stream to swim in and yet again we had it all to ourselves. But what the pictures will not show, and what the mere mention of by name now gives limbster the shivers was something evil at work. Not something to have bothered us yet, but something that has a big presence in patagonian summer, the giant, persistent, almost relentless, ravenous horsefly.

    No matter how we tried to escape them, into the ice cold river, hiding in the boiling hot car, wailing tea towels continually around our heads - they would not relent. After fending them off post lunch for as long as we could, we broke - and couldn't take it any longer, darting out of the river we packed with speed, with only a particularly entertaining time lapse left to tell the full tale.

    Note for limbster going forward, although patagonia is all but empty there is always a chance someone might appear and take you by surprise, or 4 or 5 rangers...

    After the horse fly pandemic, (this really is no exaggeration) we cruised back to the safety of a night at our secluded lake spot. Still can't believe we are surrounded by snow and glaciers given its near 30 degrees. Drove back with tops off (except limbster after learning the hard way earlier) and built on that tan.

    Although horse fly free back at the lake we were nervous, on edge you could say. The connecting of a swift stroke of a frying pan and Limbsters head therefore was an inevitable, albeit painful incident when I mistakenly leapt to her defence upon the sighting of a mere fly.

    The constant frijoling is becoming a slight issue, the staggered 1 Day delay isn't helping maters either and simply extending the nightmare. Need to review our meal plans asap. Snickers however are remaining fixed on the shopping list, a real lakeside treat indeed.

    Wrapped up our last evening here stargazing out of the side of the camper. With the clear skies come incredible nights filled with stars and galaxies - the most we've ever seen, and we're certainly going to be making the most of them!    Read more

  • TravelerLa Vida Colorida
    Day 472

    Argentina - Parque Patagonia

    February 16, 2020 in Chile ⋅ ☁️ 10 °C

    Day 473

    Even we didn't quite appreciate how empty parts of Patagonia could be. And this drive certainly was a little sneak peak into that - hundreds upon hundreds of kilometres of nothing except rugged nature. Even after a mere 700km I can safely say we passed no more than 30 cars coming the opposite direction - and this is peak season, madness.

    Stopping only for coffee breaks out the back of the van we powered through the battling winds. Learnt the hard way that it's wise to observe wind direction before going to the toilet on the side of the road - thank god for the extra baby wipes we packed with.

    Our only salvation came in terms of the argentinian petrol station YPF, placed helpfully every 300km long the infamous route. Ready with fresh air in the tyres for Jengibre we darted for the border - still optimistic we might make the remote outpost before it closed for the night.

    Quickly dawned on us that Google maps cannot be relied upon and that we would be stopping one more night in Argentina, Limbster came through with a cracking camping spot on an epic lake, and most importantly wind protected. Watched sunset come down with a helping of lentil ragu, hadn't banked on the extra night and so all out of wine - absolutely gutted but likely good for long term health at the rate we're getting through it. Trek hard, drink hard.

    Woke early with a picturesque breakfast in the border town, cleared out our remaining fresh food supplies and hit our contraband (a giant sack of peanuts). Arrived at the mountain border as the gates opened, hadn't expected such an un- thorough car inspection on the chiliean side and kicking ourselves we hadn't stocked up on more wine and petrol - both instantly 2x the price the second you cross the border.

    Most picturesque border to date, with 6km of no man's land cut out of the mountain. Stamps complete we kicked off our adventure on the Carretera Austral - the ultimate Chilean road trip. Stopped for supplies in the border town, limbster didn't enjoy the local store, dark expensive and playing xmas songs at 8am - all no's in her book.

    Drive was incredible, cruising across the side of mountain after mountain all the while trailing the perfectly turquoise lakes. Slightly daunting with the sheer cliff drops now present but all adds the the experience. Everything takes time here but it's hard to complain, the landscape taking a diverse turn to snow capped peaks and lushous green forests - our style indeed.

    Enjoyed a stop off at our first confluencia - as far as we're aware, the joining of two large rivers, in this case one lushous blue and one mint green - a spectacle indeed. We now weren't far off our destination - Parque Patagonia, a huge reserve we planned to explore. Our arrival felt like something out of a movie, everything looked like a postcard and guanacos welcomed us in the dozens.

    Exhausted from the drive today, collapsed into the thick grass together, fully wrapped up, mountains in the background and just let the burning sun cook us. All about moments like this.

    Woke early to take on biggest walk to date, a 23km circuit through this huge park. We flew through the trek thanks to a top pace setter, when she isn't frozen boy can she set a pace. Trek all to ourselves and enjoyed a few stops to attempt to conquer the mighty subs we'd packed along.

    Making it down early on the trek meant we got time to sample the solar showers, admittedly we weren't very optimistic about these at first. But once I heard the moaning from the women's bathroom I knew it could be only one of two things, limbster bracing the glacial water or that in fact we had warm water - thankfully it was the latter and spirits were high!

    We wasted no time and decided we'd seen enough of this incredible park and began our departure, admittedly this took longer than planned with me in the co pilot seat - maybe the role of directions is slightly harder than I give credit. Everything is for a reason however and the drive was one of the best yet, top driving by limbster and well worth the detour.

    Until next time parque patagonia...    Read more

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